Obsolete
by eisblau silbergrau
Summary: In their Seventh years at Hogwarts, Draco and Hermione are made Head Boy and Girl. But until the dorm is fixed, Hermione has to stay with Draco in the Slytherin dorms.
1. Prologue

_This is SHIT! There is no way in hell…_

_What?!? No way. Is there no other way?!? Please no…_

"Yes, well now that you both thoroughly understand the situation, you may leave." Dumbledore leaned back in his overstuffed chair and observed the two students before him through his half-moon spectacles. They were transfixed, neither one moving, neither dared to breathe, much less speak. It was their worst nightmare come alive. It was the worst possible situation it couldn't be true…but it was. But they weren't going to give in easily.

"Please, could we work something else out? There must be another way! We could work something else out!"

And at the same time…

"Disgusting, I refuse! You can't be serious."

"Wait. Disgusting?" Hermione turned and glared Draco. "I'm the one who should be repulsed."

"A mudblood like yourself should consider a situation like this an honor."

Hermione stood up and reached for her wand, and Draco's arrogant smirk faltered. But before either had a chance to do anything, Dumbledore cleared his voice with an air of authority.

"Mister Malfoy, I would request you refrain from using the term 'Mudblood'. Miss Granger, I would request you lower your wand."

Hermione lowered her wand from Draco's face to his crotch. Draco look horrified.

"Miss Granger."

Hermione put her wand back in her robes and sat down. "I'm sorry headmaster, that was inappropriate." Hermione said quietly, feeling slightly guilty. Dumbledore looked amused at the entire scene.

"This situation will only remain until the Head dorms are repaired. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but you will have to make do. Lemon drop?" Dumbledore motioned towards a bowl of yellow candies.

"Err, no thanks, sir." Hermione said, still lost in thought, trying to comprehend what she had just been told, and she wasn't happy. Draco looked just as peeved.

"Well, off you go then. Class already started." Dumbledore smiled at the students. _This could be interesting_, he thought. He was well aware of how much the students loathed each other, and knew the dangers of the situation. Yet he couldn't help but find the situation comical. _They could learn a lot from this._ He thought to himself. _Or someone could end up dead. I guess it's a risk I'm willing to take._

"And Mister Malfoy," Draco paused in the doorway as Hermione left the room. He waited until she was out of earshot. "Make sure Miss Granger receives a kind reception from the rest of the Slytherins. If anything happens you are responsible."

"Yes, sir." Draco turned and left the room. He was furious, at the situation and at Dumbledore. _I'm responsible?_ He thought to himself. _This is insane! How am I supposed to keep the entire Slytherin house from killing her when I tell them about this? That a mudblood, that Granger herself is going to be living in the Slytherin dorms! _


	2. Chapter 1

Draco fumed as he stalked down the corridors leading to the depths of Hogwarts. He was on his way to potions and had already missed half the class. That was the least of his worries; he knew Snape wouldn't punish him- he had been talking to the Headmaster after all. He was still contemplating what had just occurred in his visit with the Headmaster and wasn't taking it too kindly. Besides it being a burden on him, he couldn't even contemplate what the Slytherins would think when they saw him protecting her.

Which he decided he had to do- being a Malfoy the thought of leaving her to the Slytherins had crossed his mind- but he knew the consequences wouldn't be worth it. Dumbledore wouldn't take kindly to anything bad happening to the Head Girl, and he would rather avoid the wrath of Potter and Weasley. _Along with the rest of Gryffindor_. He thought. Something like this could fuel an all out war between the two houses.

_Besides. I couldn't even imagine leaving Slytherin to live in Gryffindor, they'd kill me. And they're supposed to be the 'noble' ones. I bet she's terrified…_ Draco stopped suddenly when he realized what he was thinking. _She deserves what she gets. It's her own fault. If she wasn't friends with Potter it wouldn't be so bad for her…_

Draco reached the door to the potions class but didn't enter. He leaned against the wall and ran his fingers through his messy, blonde hair. _Why should I care about that mudblood?_ He reached for the door handle. _But why should I care about what the other Slytherins think about me?_ He entered the potions room with a sigh.

"Mister Malfoy, thank you for joining us. Since you are both late, you will be working with Miss Granger." Draco looked over at Hermione, who had obviously just gotten there as well. _Well this is going to be fun_. Draco grimaced and sat down next to Hermione. _Well I have to get used to having her around sometime…_

…

Hermione groaned at the professor's announcement. Malfoy was the last person she wanted to see right now, she was still too absorbed in her thoughts about her new living arrangements. _Why would Dumbledore do this? They're going to KILL me._

Hermione flinched at the loud thud that emanated from Draco's books being dropped to the floor. She glanced at him, and swore he didn't look as evil as he usually did. He seemed as if he was lost in thought also.

"Shall we get started on this?" Draco said, looking her in the eye. Hermione quickly turned away and stared at her empty cauldron, blushing slightly.

"Oh, yes… of course." She started pulling ingredients out and preparing them, Draco doing the same.

It wasn't the first time they had been forced to work together in potions, and when they did, their potion was always the best. They worked together well, she couldn't deny it. _When he's not being a git._ She added. _He may be a jerk, but he's not an idiot._

At the same time, Malfoy was having similar thoughts about the situation. _If she wasn't a Gryffindor or a mudblood… _Draco stopped himself. _We just work well together in Potions. That's all. Right?_ He looked over at his potions partner. She was flushed from the heat of the fire, and though she was obviously preoccupied, she had a peaceful expression as she worked on mixing ingredients. Her hair was pulled back, taming its wild curls.

"What's the matter?" Hermione said as she looked at Draco with an eyebrow raised.

"Err, what?" Draco replied, realizing he hadn't moved at all in the last minute, and had stopped stirring the cauldron. He turned slightly pink and started stirring. "Sorry, I was just… thinking." Draco blushed even more and turned away, focusing all his attention on the potion at hand.

_He seems to be acting… odd._ Hermione mused to herself, watching Draco fiddling with various ingredients. _He isn't being as hostile as he usually is. And I thought that it would be worse than usual, that he would try and get back at me for Dumbledore's arrangements. I guess he isn't that…_

An enchanted paper airplane was nudging her hand, and she discreetly opened and read the note. _Are you okay? Why weren't you at breakfast? Ron and I are worried about you._ It was from Harry. She looked over her shoulder to where he was sitting. She gave him a weak smile and mouthed 'After class'. He nodded and she turned back to her potion only to see Draco reading the note.

"That's personal!" Hermione whispered angrily in Draco's ear. Her breath made his hair flutter around his face. He smirked at her.

"And Potter should be worried about you. Who knows what could happen in dungeons at night, and he won't be there to save you…" Draco whispered back.

"Shut up Malfoy. I can take care of myself." Hermione balled up her fist. "Or should I remind you?"

Draco turned from the bubbling potion and faced her. Their eyes met, and his silvery grey eyes burned into her golden brown ones. The room seemed to disappear. Neither blinked in fear of losing that connection, that connection that neither of them would admit to on a conscious level. Hermione leaned in, she could feel his breath on her face.

"Err Mione? Class already ended. What are you doing?" Harry glared at Draco, who had suddenly turned away and started bottling their potion. Hermione was staring off into space, avoiding eye contact with Harry.

"Umm…we were… I mean, I was…" Hermione said nervously. Harry raised an eyebrow and looked at the two of them.

"We were discussing our meeting with the Headmaster." Draco said coolly, as he set the finished potion on Snape's desk. He turned and faced them. "As I was saying, Granger, I will inform my house of this arrangement when today's classes are over, so they have some time to 'adjust' to the situation before tonight." He added quietly, so only she could hear, "It wont be that bad. Don't worry about it."

Draco picked up his books and headed out of the classroom, but not without noticing the blush that was spreading across Hermione's face. And for some reason, it made him happy.


	3. Chapter 2

Hermione sat detached, eating her dinner amidst the loud clamor of the Great Hall. _Hmm, I wonder if my Muggle Studies essay was long enough… was Malfoy trying to comfort me? Maybe I should have added more about what iPods are for. Malfoy's an ass; he was probably trying to trick me into letting my guard down._ Hermione left her thoughts as people sat down on either side of her.

"Hermione, is it true?"

"Damn it Ron, for the tenth time, why would I make something like that up?"

Harry reached over and stole a bun off of Hermione's plate.

"Who would make something like that up? It's sick." He added, giving Hermione a sympathetic look.

"I'm afraid it's true Ron." Hermione said with a sigh. "I talked to Dumbledore again after classes, he said there was no other way."

"But why couldn't you stay in Gryffindor?" Ron whined.

"Ron, you know how full it is in there. You're always complaining about it!" Hermione shook her head. "It's going to be fine. It's only temporary, and I can take care of myself. Stop worrying so much!"

Harry and Ron could both clearly see that she was not as calm about the situation as her speech implied. And no matter what she said, they weren't going to stop worrying about her.

"I guess Dumbledore doesn't like you as much as we thought he did. Or you must have done something to really piss him off because-"

"RON. Please, I'd rather not talk about it anymore and just enjoy dinner."

Ron shrugged and started piling food onto his plate. "If you say so…"

They finished their meal quickly, to Hermione's displeasure. Despite how she tried to hide her anxiousness about the upcoming ordeal, she failed miserably. Yet Ron and Harry took her advice and didn't bring the subject up again- until they were heading out of the Great Hall.

"Oy. Hermione."

"Yes, Ron?"

"If your going to be in Slytherin all the time, how am I going to get my homework done?"

"RON!" Hermione tried to give him a stern look, but couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Yeah, haha." He said with a smirk. "But seriously- I'm screwed."

"Well then this is the perfect opportunity for you to learn how to do your own work." She turned around to face him as they exited the Great Hall. "After all, I'm not going to be around forever to do your work for you."

Hermione gave the two boys a puzzled look, for they had stopped walking and were glaring at something behind her. "What are you...aaaa!" Hermione turned back around quickly to see what they were looking at and ran face first into Malfoy, causing her to fall backwards onto the cold stone floor with a thud.

"Hermione! Are you alright?" The two boys said in unison, rushing to help her up.

"Watch it, Malfoy." Harry said with a certain venom towards the blonde haired boy.

"What, Potter? Do you think I intentionally run into mudbloods? I wouldn't want to get my robes dirty." Draco looked at Hermione with an expression that didn't quite fit his words, but it disappeared quickly as Ron and Harry moved in front of her pulling out their wands.

"Ron, Harry, this is not the time or place!" She said earnestly, stepping in front of them, keeping them separated from Draco. "It's not worth it."

"But Hermione! Did you hear what he said? He... he…" Ron stopped his sentence and lowered his wand, but gave Hermione a frustrated look.

"I know what he said Ron, I can deal with him myself." She looked over at Harry, who reluctantly lowered his wand, still giving Draco an evil look.

Draco gave Hermione an incredulous look. "YOU can deal with ME?" Draco smirked. "I highly doubt that Grang—ER." A sudden flash of red light and Draco was literally 'tongue tied'. Ron and Harry stared open mouthed in disbelief. Hermione pocketed her wand and turned to face the dumbfounded boys.

"I told you I can take of myself." She said with a smile. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?" Ron nodded and continued to stare in disbelief at Draco. Harry, on the other hand, had a more serious expression. He handed her a small black box he had been hiding in his robes.

"I know we shouldn't worry, and that you'll be fine, but if you need anything… well it's only a part of it but you can still reach me." He gave her a warm smile and dragged Ron away, who was still speechless.

"I dunno, I still think her punching him was more badass, Ron." Harry said as he and Ron disappeared from sight.

"Right on." She heard Ron say. "But that doesn't mean it wasn't bloody brilliant."

Hermione smiled. She was just glad that no one else had noticed.

"Mahh tuuughn iich!"

"What are you still doing here?" she said, raising an eyebrow. She muttered a quick counter curse, but kept her wand out incase Draco tried to get back at her.

"Someone has to show you how to get to the Slytherin dorms, right?" He said with a smirk. "Though if that's your attitude, I guess I should just leave you here."

Hermione stood speechless and stared at him blankly as he started to leave.

"You came to get me? To show me how to get to the commons?" She asked disbelievingly. "Seriously?"

"Well are you coming or not?"


	4. Chapter 3

"Malfoy. Malfoy! MALFOY!" Hermione shouted as she ran to catch up to Draco.

"What?" He said indifferently, He glanced quickly at her and was amused by her confused expression. She just stood there and stared at him. "What?" He repeated, this time with slight annoyance.

"Why are you… what are you up to?"

"Excuse me? What makes you think I'm up to something?"

"In potions you were acting decent, but a few seconds ago you where treating me like shit again! And just now I cursed you and all you did was… smirk at me! You even offered to help me!" Hermione said frustrated. "I don't get it!"

"Something Granger can't understand? I'm shocked. And here I thought you knew everything." He gave her an evil grin. "Oh right, about that curse…" Malfoy pulled out his wand and put a silencing charm on Hermione. "That should make this experience a lot more pleasant."

_MALFOY!_ She silently mouthed at him, unable to speak; horrified that she let him get the best of her.

"What better way to punish a know-it-all than by not letting her speak?" He smiled at his own ingeniousness. _Trust me, this is for your own good._ "Personally Hermione, I have nothing against you." She raised an eyebrow and looked at him disbelievingly. "Just your choice in acquaintances, your 'unfortunate' ancestry, you personality, your appearance-" Hermione had smacked him behind the head in an attempt to shut him up. "-but besides that I'm quite indifferent to your entire existence."

_What the hell is that supposed to mean?!? _Hermione, unable to respond. She continued walking, a few steps behind him, contemplating what he had said. The air grew steadily colder and they furthered deeper into the dark, dank, depths of the castle's dungeons. _I guess… it could be his way of saying that his problem isn't with me, but with Harry? So he only really acts like an ass when he's around…_ Hermione sighed in exasperation, breathing in the cold. _It's twisted enough; I wouldn't put it past him. But he also said he basically hates everything about me. I give up… it's Malfoy anyways. Who really cares what he thinks about me?_ But despite how she tried to forget it or deny it, he continued to plague her thoughts. _He's an ass! I don't care what he thinks of me! He does have a nice ass…_

"Granger!"

Hermione looked up and stared mutely at Draco. Turning slightly pink. _I didn't just think that…_

"I said we're here! Just because you can't speak doesn't mean you can stop listening. What were you staring at anyways?"

At this, Hermione turned a deep shade of red, and refused to face Draco. But even through the bushy hair that obstructed his view of her face, he could tell she was blushing furiously. _At least she has good taste…_ Draco stepped closer to Hermione, leaning towards her, he whispered, "_domination_". Hermione stared at him wide eyed, completely lost. Draco walked past her, and she realized that the wall behind her had suddenly obtained a large, elaborately decorated doorway. A silver snake decorated the doorframe, its emerald eyes gleaming in the dim light of the dungeons appearing almost alive with a burning green fire.

_Snakes. How original._ But as she passed underneath them, she couldn't help but marvel in the eerie beauty they held. _This is it_, she thought as Draco reached out to open the heavy doors, _I can do this._ She held her breath in anticipation and worry. She prepared herself to face a common full of angry Slytherins ready to kill her. But as she stepped through the doorway and her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, she realized that it was completely empty.

_Where is everyone?_ She mouthed silently to Draco. He smirked.

"This is a secret entrance, Granger. No one uses this room but me. The benefits of an extensive Slytherin heritage." Draco muttered a spell and the room came alive with light, and Hermione could finally admire the splendor of the room. It was small, but filled with beautiful and rare objects that Hermione had never seen, or even read about. She was intrigued.

_Wow._ She breathed silently, taking in the view. She noticed a large and rather well supplied bookcase and moved towards it, examining its ancient contents. Draco sniggered at her expression of awe. _I figured as much._ Draco thought, staring at her. _I knew she'd like it here._

"Even the restricted section in the library won't have books like these. Try not to sully them, mudblood." Draco waited for her reaction with an arrogant smirk, but received none. She had removed one of the oldest, largest, dustiest, leather bound books and had begun to read it fervently, flipping through the pages absorbed in their ancient contents. "Did you hear me mudblood? I said try not to contaminate them. Granger!" If there was one thing Draco didn't like, it was being ignored. And at this moment, Hermione was about as interested in his presence as she would be with a dirty old rag. He glared at her, trying to decide how best to get her attention and simultaneously annoy her.

Draco had decided. He causally pulled his wand out of his robes and quietly muttered a charm; not that he needed to be discreet in anyway, Hermione wouldn't have noticed it if he was screaming spells while running around naked. Well, she might have noticed the latter part. Hermione flinched, surprised by the fact that the book she had been absorbed in suddenly snapped shut and refused to reopen for her. Despite how she tried to pry it apart, it would not submit. It was then that she realized that Draco was sniggering behind her.

_I was reading that!_ She silently screamed at Draco, clutching the book to her chest protectively. _You shouldn't treat books so poorly!_ Even though she was unable to actually say anything, Draco was able to get the drift, and was couldn't to stop laughing. _Stop laughing!!_ She demanded, getting more and more frustrated by her inability to speak.

"Granger! You should see your face, it's priceless! A know-it-all unable to speak or read! You might as well be dead!" Draco stopped laughing, as was suddenly serious. He observed the anxious and frightened girl standing in front of him, still clutching her book. His lips curled up at the edges and he gave her an evil grin. "A fate we've postponed long enough." He managed to free the book from her iron grip. "If you ever want to see this again you'll do as I say, got it?" He said teasingly, but had to suppress a laugh when she nodded seriously. He knew she was a bookworm, but to actually agree to his terms so she could read a book? This was more than he expected.

_You should be grateful, Granger. You have no idea what I'm doing for you._ Draco thought as he gave Hermione a mischievous smirk.

"Come, Granger. It's time to meet your fate."

Hermione mentally prepared herself while Draco replaced the leather bound book back on the shelf with its companions.

"This way." Draco motioned towards a large painting of a rather young man, who resembled an older version of Draco. Hermione observed this similarity with intrigue; she thought for a moment that it could be a young Lucious, but knew she was wrong the moment the portrait spoke.

"Draco, a muggle-born? I'm surprised." It teased. Hermione couldn't even imagine Draco's father to speak in such a chiding, playful manner. The man gave Draco a smirk, one that looked eerily like the smirk Draco had been giving her earlier.

"Scorpious." Draco said coolly, glaring at the man in the portrait. The portrait gave one last smirk and moved as to expose an opening in the wall. Draco passed through, but before Hermione left the room she heard the portrait whisper to her,

"Don't worry. He'll take care of you."


	5. Chapter 4

Draco leaned against the wall, shivering as his exposed skin of his back clashed with the cold stone. He sighed and closed his eyes as he remembered that night's events.

…

Hermione stepped out of the opening exposed by the portrait and into a room lit entirely by fire, yet it wasn't a warm. There were no windows, and only a few paintings for decoration. There were snake emblems adorning various mantles and pieces of furniture, and green and silver were the dominant colors throughout the room. This gave it an icy look to Hermione; it had none of the warmth of the Gryffindor tower, with its bright red and gold drapery and view of the grounds. It seemed to her desolate, like there was no escape, and a wave of claustrophobia washed over her. She leaned against the wall next to the opening she had just come from to steady herself. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

Draco watched her closely from the minute she entered the commons, intrigued by how she would act. Hermione opened her eyes and stared straight into Draco's, her warm brown eyes piercing into the cool depths of his cool grey ones. She seemed to be questioning him, pondering his existence and what role he would have in the up coming events. How much could she trust him, if at all? She stood up straighter, without the support of the stone walls of the common room. He couldn't tell what she had decided, if she had decided she could trust him, or had decided she would stand on her own. _It doesn't matter to me either way_, he thought, _I already know what I'm going to do. And Granger has nothing to do with that decision either_.

The room had few occupants, but they all were silent and staring at Hermione. She just stood there and stared back. This was most of the Slytherin house. Draco observed what was left of his once great house, and wondered what it had come to, with its few inhabitants and now- sheltering a mudblood. But those that were left were still proud, and would fight to defend their house's honor. Draco had informed them that she would be arriving, but they still just openly stared, and the silence filled the room.

Pansy was the first to move. She stood up and approached Hermione with a look of distain and venom. She stood ten feet away, and acted if that was even to close, as if she would somehow become contaminated.

"Granger," Pansy finally managed to force out, her words biting at Hermione coldly, "the girl's dormitory is this way." Pansy stared at her, venomously, and turned and walked across the room. With a pause, in which Hermione looked at Draco questioningly without response, she followed Pansy across the room. It seemed like miles, and the silence was unnerving. But silence was preferable to the alternative, which occurred as she started to pass though their midst. Undisguised contempt and unrestrained insults filled the room, echoing off the dungeon walls. No one referred to her as anything besides 'the mudblood' or other objectionable terms, and the only thing that kept Hermione from screaming at them all was the silencing charm Draco had placed on her. Instead, she passed though as quickly as she could, turning redder by the moment in both rage and embarrassment.

Yet while the younger students were perturbed by her presence, and were content to insult her to her face, the older students weren't so easily satisfied. They were repulsed by her very presence, and violence shone in their eyes. Before Hermione could even draw her wand, their spells were repelled. She turned and saw Draco with his wand in hand, and as she disappeared into the girl's dormitory she saw him mutter something while pointing his wand at her. At once, her throat loosened and she was able to breath easy once again.

…

Draco sighed and slid into his old four-poster bed with emerald green sheets. He felt as if it had been ages since he had last felt their warmth, which it had been- he hadn't slept in the Slytherin dorms since last year. He missed it, he felt much more at home in these cold dank dungeons than anywhere else he knew. Yet as he slowly drifted off to sleep, thoughts of Hermione kept flitting though his head.

It could have been worse, no one got hurt. But this was just the beginning, he knew. Dumbledore had not said specifically how long they would have to stay here, or why they had not been allowed to stay anywhere else. He knew that the other houses had no room, but he was not as naive as Hermione as to believe that there was no better or safer place in the castle for her to stay. But Dumbledore had insisted. _I wonder what the old man's up to_. He thought, before he drifted into sleep still thinking about that 'filthy mudblood'.

…

Hermione entered the Slytherin girl's dorm, and was surprised how similar it was to the Gryffindor dorm, just with green and silver instead of red and gold, and minus the windows. Hermione hated the fact that there weren't any windows. The girls that had been hanging out in the dorm left when Hermione arrived, but not without several suggestions as to where she should go instead.

Hermione and Pansy were the only ones left, and they both obviously wished to be anywhere else at that moment. Awkward silence persisted for a few moments, before Hermione remembered she now had her voice back, and decided to break it.

"Err… thanks for, um, showing me the dorms Pansy." Hermione said awkwardly. She rather despised Pansy, who was basically Hermione's antithesis, but was grateful that someone was at least trying to be civil.

"Right." Pansy replied, uncomfortably, obviously not pleased at the fact she was helping Hermione. "Your bed is over there." She pointed to a bed crammed in a corner, away from the rest. "So is your stuff."

"Right, thanks." Hermione smiled at Pansy in an awkward fashion, then walked over to her bed and started to organize her belongings. Pansy sat on her bed and fixed her makeup in a hand mirror. While she was putting things away, Hermione found the box that Harry had given her after dinner, still unopened. She carefully opened it, and found inside it a shard of a mirror. As she stared at her reflection, Harry's face appeared, smiling at her.

"Harry?!" Hermione said surprised. Pansy looked over from the other side of the room, curious as to what this outburst was about. "I can't talk right now, but I'm doing fine!" She whispered into the mirror, so Pansy wouldn't hear her. "Thank you, Harry." She put the gift back into its box and tucked it safely away in her trunk. Being able to see Harry made her feel more relaxed, and she was glad she had the chance to let him know she was okay. Feeling peaceful, she sunk back into the warmth of her bed and drifted off to sleep without even changing out of her robes.


	6. Chapter 5

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Hermione shouted. She normally wasn't a fan of such coarse language, but felt that the situation was appropriate.

She felt around thick black curtains that had been enchanted to envelope her bed and keep her from leaving. Her clothes, her books, her wand- all of her things were missing. The only thing she had was the robe she had fallen asleep in, and it had been shrunk so that it looked as if it belonged to a child. The bottom came up past her knees, the sleeves past her elbows, and it was so tight around her chest that she could barely breathe.

Hermione wasn't happy about the situation. _Fucking Slytherins! Why am I so surprised? I should have expected this. I should have protected myself better. Why wasn't I thinking straight? WHY WON'T THESE CURTAINS OPEN?_

She finally decided that she wouldn't be able to go through them, and that her only way out was to go over them. She climbed up onto her bed and jumped for the rail that floated in the air, holding the enchanted curtains up. She managed to grab a hold of the rail with one hand, but it slipped out of her grasp and she slid down the curtain and skidded across the cold stone of the dungeon floor. She ignored the scrapes on her shins as she once more climbed onto her bed and tried for freedom from the oppression of the black drapes.

She managed to grasp a hold with both hands this time, and with much effort, pulled her weight over the curtain and fell down the other side. She laid flat on her back, waiting for the wind to return to her lungs. She stared at the dungeon's ceiling and felt the sting of pain spread across her body. She groaned and sat up slowly, observing the room. All the other girls of the dorm had already left, and a watch left on a nightstand told her that she had already missed breakfast and her first class.

"The one day I over sleep…" she looked down at her outfit. There was no way she was going anywhere dressed like this, and she still couldn't locate her trunk. She decided it was safe to venture into to commons, as everyone would be in classes by now.

She cautiously stepped out into the commons, which was empty, as she had predicted it would be. Hermione searched around, but still couldn't find any of her things. It wasn't helpful that she didn't know her way around the place.

She sat down dejectedly and thought about what she should do. _Well I've already missed class, so I guess I might as well spend more time trying to find something to wear._ She crossed her legs and heard a loud _riiippp_ as the fabric of her shrunken robe gave way, exposing part of her thigh. _Brilliant_ she thought. _What next?_

"Looks great, Granger. Did the Weasel get that for you?"

_Perfect._

Hermione looked over her shoulder and saw a certain blonde headed boy sit down in a couch facing her, with a huge smirk on his face. Hermione sighed.

"Shut it ferret."

"Oohhh, in a bad mood are we?" Draco leaned back and observed Hermione closely, noticing what her distorted robe revealed. "You look ridiculous."

Hermione turned around and tried to adjust her robe. She failed miserably; the rip only grew further up her leg. Draco snickered behind her back, and Hermione turned bright red.

"Well excuse me, if I could change robes I would."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean? You really expected me to spend a night here and not have something like this happen?"

"Whoa, what the hell happened to you?" Draco had just noticed the cuts across her shins that were now bleeding slightly, her ragged, pained breathing, and lack of wand.

"Try to sound like you care."

"Where the hell is Pansy?"

"Like I give a shit."

Draco ran his hands though his hair nervously. _Fuck. I should've known_._ What do I do now? I don't want to help her but… damnit._

"Wait here." Hermione looked up as Draco left the commons, for what she presumed was the boy's dorm. She stared blankly at the place where he left, wondering what he was up to. A few minuets later, he reappeared looking slightly disheveled, as if the last few minuets of his existence were spent at the bottom of a very messy trunk. Which, for the most part, he had.

He tossed a bundle of black cloth to Hermione, who, by catching it, caused her robes to rip even further. This turned Hermione was an even deeper shade of red, and she fumbled with the bundle Draco had just thrown at her.

"These are robes."

"Exactly."

Hermione stared at Draco inquisitively. "These are _girl_'s robes."

Draco sat back down on the couch and smirked at her again. "Yes. Their Pansy's."

Hermione gagged and dropped the robes as quickly as she could.

"Malfoy, that's disgusting. I'm not going to wear Pansy's dirty robes." Hermione's breathing grew even more strained, and she started to feel light-headed. Darkness seemed to grow around the edges of her vision, and she had to lean back against the wall to keep from falling over. "Why did you have them? Actually I don't really want to know…why…"

"You don't look so good Granger…Granger?"

_Ahh shit._ Draco thought as he stared at the unconscious body of Hermione Granger.

…

Hermione breathed deeply for what felt like the first time in ages. She felt her body ache all over, but worst of all was throbbing pain in her head. She felt warm breath across her face and opened her eyes slowly. She couldn't believe what she saw- Draco was leaning over her with what she could have sworn was a concerned look on his face. She blinked and it immediately disappeared.

"You're awake. What a shame." Draco said sarcastically as he stood up, pretending not to be relieved. _I'm just relieved because Dumbledore would kill me if she ended up dying_, he reminded himself. He also reminded himself to actually believe this, and failed.

Hermione sat up slowly and noticed two things. First, that she was on one of the couches. Secondly, and more shockingly, her robe and the clothes underneath, which were also child sized, were unbuttoned.

"What the hell, Malfoy?!?" She screamed as she attempted to cover herself up.

"Relax, like I'd want to do anything to someone like you." Draco picked Pansy's clothes off the floor and tossed them back at Hermione. "You couldn't breathe, be grateful I didn't just let you die."

Hermione shuddered at the thought that her life had been in Draco's hands. _What if he hadn't helped me…_ she shook her head to clear her thoughts, but only ended up making her headache worse.

"Thanks, I guess." She said as she stood up, still slightly unstable, covering herself with Pansy's robe. "I'm going to change."

"Don't worry. They're clean."

"What?"

"The robes. It's not what you think."

"Oh." Hermione turned and headed up into the girl's dorms, smiling. _Why do I feel so relieved?_

…

Draco sat down on the couch where Hermione had been, and couldn't help but notice it was still warm from where she had laid. He ran his hand though his hair wondered why he had just explained himself to a mudblood.


	7. Chapter 6

"So. Explain again why you're wearing Slytherin robes?"

Hermione nervously tried her best to obscure the green trim on her robe and her green and silver tie while blushing obscenely.

"I told you… Dumbledore hasn't moved my things down to Slytherin yet, so I… borrowed some." Hermione cringed slightly. She was a bad liar and she knew it.

"Right." Harry replied incredulously. Ron continued to stuff his face with dinner only stopping occasionally to give a disgusted look at Hermione's robes. "And who did you borrow these robes from?"

"Err… Pansy." Hermione said cautiously, wishing that Harry wasn't such an attentive friend.

Ron choked on his mouthful of potatoes and Harry made a retching sound.

"Hermione, why? Of all the Slytherins, why Pansy?" Harry said as he shuddered slightly.

"She's not that bad Harry! She's one of the few Slytherins that is actually decent to me! And seriously, Ron, just swallow your food! It's not like I had a choice in the matter anyways!"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "And why didn't you have a choice?"

_Crap_, Hermione thought. _What do I do now?_

"I spend my entire day with Slytherins, and when I finally get a chance to hang out with you guys, all you do is ask me questions! Well I've had enough of it!" Hermione got up in a huff and stormed out of the Great Hall. Ron and Harry stared, bewildered at her sudden out burst.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron said as he finally managed to swallow his dinner.

…

On the other side of the Great Hall, Draco watched as Hermione stormed out of the room. _Glad it wasn't me…_ he thought, somewhat bemused. As if she could read his thoughts, Hermione suddenly looked over at the Slytherin table and glared at Draco. He smirked at her and she pushed her way though a group of first years standing in front of the doors. _ How amusing. We're more alike than I give her credit for._

…

Hermione stormed angrily though the castle, making her way towards the dungeons without thinking about where she was going. By the time she reached the depth of the school, she realized she didn't even know how to get into the Slytherin commons. Draco had muttered something to a random wall the other night, and she hadn't been back since then. She didn't even know if she could get in again that way.

"Damnit!" She whispered to herself when she finally decided that none of the dungeon walls would randomly open and grant her entrance into Slytherin. Several paintings were already giving her spiteful looks, and she could've sworn one called her a mudblood. When she passed by a large, grand, looking painting, with a background of emerald green and a silver frame, she decided she'd try her luck.

"Excuse me, sir, but do you know how I get into the Slytherin commons?" She asked carefully.

"Possibly." The painting looked down at her with a look of udder superiority. "You're not a first year, so you must not be of my house if you do not know how to get in." He smirked her and continued, "So I feel it would be in the best interest of my house, NOT to let you in. To preserve the dignity of such a great establishment as this," he paused for emphasis, "I think it would be appropriate to with hold that information from you."

"Like she'd really wants to spend time in your ruddy house." Ron sneered, appearing from the dark of the corridor. "Come on Hermione, just come back to Gryffindor with us."

The painting looked incredulously at the small group of people who were now gathered around his portrait. Harry had appeared behind Ron and they both were standing protectively around Hermione. "Gryffindors? Trying to get into MY house?" The painting glared at Hermione. "You must be that mudblood Dumbledore has been trying to shelter in my house. Well I will not tolerate it. I will not grant you passage into this dorm, now or ever."

The bust of Salazar Slytherin went silent and stared ominously at the scene before him. Ron and Harry had both pulled out their wands and were pointing them at the painting threateningly, while Hermione tried her best to restrain the two, almost fully grown, teenage boys. Needless to say, she was failing. Miserably.

"Ron! Harry! Stop! It!" Hermione said as she struggled to keep the boys at bay.

Suddenly, a quick force pulled both Harry and Ron off their feet and onto the stone floor. The sudden movement sent Hermione off balance as well, but as she feel forwards towards Salazar's portrait a strong arm caught her around the waist and pulled her upright. She heard a familiar self-important chuckle behind her and knew, to her surprise, exactly who her savior was.

…

Draco followed shortly after the golden trio, feeling the need to take this chance to torment them as a group. It had been almost a day since he last had, after all.

After trailing them for some time, he was surprised by where they were headed. _Slytherin?_ He thought. _Why were they headed there?_ He figured they would try and spend as much time as possible away from there, being Gryffindors and all. Only Hermione had a reason to be down there, but he thought she would be doing everything in her power to get away.

_Obviously I'm doing my job too well. Just because I'm supposed to keep her safe doesn't mean I'm supposed to make it so she enjoys her time here. She should suffer enough to understand that she doesn't belong here. That we don't want here._ He suddenly remembered the image of Hermione Cut, bruised, and unconscious due to the escapades of the Slytherin 7th year girls. _Okay, so I doubt she's enjoying her time here. But that doesn't explain why she's in such a rush to get back_.

Draco also remembered undressing Hermione earlier that day and smirked. There were some benefits to having her around; she wasn't exactly hideous after all.

Hermione's voice awakened Draco from his thoughts. He knew where they were, and he groaned to himself slightly. _Fuck. She isn't supposed to be here._ Draco observed the scene from the shadows created by the torchlight. Dumbledore would kill him if he didn't manage to solve this. If Salazar knew that Hermione was staying in Slytherin, things could get messy.

"Ron! Harry! Stop! It!"

Draco watched as the teenage girl struggled to keep her friends at bay. _Well, it's now or never_.

He slid silently out of the shadows and stood behind Ron and Harry. He smirked and forcefully yanked on the collars of the two boys, sending them sharply to the cold floor. Hermione started to fall forward and he swiftly caught her and pulled her into him. He chucked to himself. _Damn, I'm smooth._ Draco eyed Hermione. _Green really does look good on her compared to that damn red and gold._

"Let-go-of-her!" Ron gasped as air re-entered his lungs. He managed to climb his way to his feet and stood menacingly in front of Draco. Or he tried, at least. His tousled robe and messy hair made him look rather ridiculous. Harry was still on the floor looking for his glasses. Draco didn't feel threatened. The only person he had to worry about was girl he was currently holding, and she was frozen in shock. It was overall a fairly comical scene.

"Draco, my favorite student." Salazar sneered. "Does your father know about your sudden fondness for mudbloods?"

"I'm a teenager right? Consider this my rebellion from my parents." Draco replied coolly.

Hermione seemed to awaken from her state of shock, and turned to look at Draco with an eyebrow raised. _Draco? Rebelling from his parents? I doubt it_.

Draco looked back with an evil smirk on his face. Hermione was definitely worried. Draco twirled a lock of her golden brown hair around one of his pale fingers and whispered in her ear, "_Go along with it_" so that no one else could hear.

Hermione looked back at the portrait of Salazar and made up her mind.


	8. Chapter 7

Hermione grinned mischievously and leaned closer to Draco. She could almost feel the anger radiating off of Ron behind her, and she could hear Harry shuffling around the floor looking for his glasses.

_She really is the brightest witch of her age_, thought Draco. _I wonder how far she'd be willing to go with this…_ Draco was pulled out of his thoughts as Hermione elbowed him in the stomach. Subtly. If that's possible. _Not to far, I'm guessing. I'll find out soon enough_.

"Just having some fun with the mudblood, Salazar. I know you can't say that you haven't done the same." Draco toyed with Hermione's hair more, pulling her deeper into him. "And I get to torment Gryffindors at the same time." With a quick flit of his wand, Draco sent the vivid red Ron back to the floor. With a second spell, he sent Harry's glasses sliding farther away. He heard Harry swear at him and chuckled. "Don't worry, Salazar. I'll keep her out of the House."

He ran his hand down Hermione's arm and pulled her deeper into him. Hermione smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. He leaned into her and brushed his lips against her neck. He could feel her blush.

"It's none of my business as long as she says away from here, understand?" Salazar said with a repulsed look on his face. He wasn't the only one, Harry had managed to find his glasses and Ron was almost on his feet again.

"_Time to go._" Draco whispered in Hermione's ear, his breath cascading down her cheek. He pulled her away from the scene, Harry and Ron following closely behind them, wands raised. They heard Salazar sigh dejectedly as they turned the corner and were out of his sight and earshot.

"Let go of her, Malfoy." Harry said ominously, wand raised and directed squarely at Draco's face.

"Make me." Draco said, toying with Harry. He wrapped his arms around Hermione even more. Hermione rolled her eyes, but was obviously pink. She struggled to free herself from Malfoy's grasp and prevent the oncoming fight. He held onto her tightly and wouldn't let her go.

"Shove off, Malfoy. You don't have to pretend anymore."

"But Granger, I'm obviously having sooo much fun covering for your sorry ass."

"Let go, Malfoy."

"With pleasure."

Draco released Hermione quickly, feeling suddenly self-conscious. She straightened her clothes, which had become fairly askew in the whole affair, and walked awkwardly back to Harry and Ron, the latter of which was obviously confused. Harry, on the other hand, had seemed to have worked most of it out.

"So that was all just a front," Harry said, anger still apparent in his voice, "so that Salazar wouldn't know that Hermione was staying in Slytherin?"

"I'm amazed at the capacity of your brain," Draco drawled, "did you figure that out by yourself?"

Hermione cleared her throat and glared at Draco. "Yes, Harry."

Ron, who had finally managed to grasp what had occurred, stood protectively next to Hermione, and scowled. "Don't ever do anything like that again, Malfoy."

"It was my deepest wish that it would never have occurred in the first place, but obviously that was shot to hell. I'm scared for life." Draco stared at Hermione. "You owe me big time."

"Like hell." She replied darkly. "Now to prevent that from happening again, how am I supposed to get into Slytherin?"

"Well first of all, you have to ditch your boyfriends. I'm not inviting the entire Gryffindor House in."

Ron and Harry looked upset, but Hermione forced them to leave.

"I'll talk to you guys later, okay?" she smiled pleadingly, and they grudgingly obliged.

When they were out of sight, Draco leaned against the dungeon wall and smirked at Hermione poisonously. Hermione stared back apathetically.

"I hope you enjoyed that, Granger. It's never going to happen again."

"Dear God, I hope not."

"Playing hard to get?"

"Try sincerely disgusted."

"The way you were acting said otherwise."

"I'm good at faking it."

"Practice with Ron?"

In a second, Hermione had crossed the hall and had her fist recoiled, ready to punch Draco in the face. Before she was able to connect, she felt the smooth wood of his wand underneath her chin and froze. Draco's face was completely unreadable, and that frightened Hermione more than any of his threats ever had.

"I let you do that once, Granger, don't think I'm ever going to make that mistake again."

"Don't ever speak to me like that again."

Draco grasped her neck with his free hand and pulled her face towards his, so that their lips almost touched. Draco quickly removed his wand and pressed it against the back of her neck, a red-hot pain snaking though her skin at that point his wand touched. She gasped in pain and pushed him away. She breathed heavily and pointed her wand at Draco's throat.

"Malfoy, you miserable little-"

"Take a look around, Granger." Draco said coolly, his expression still unreadable.

And Hermione did. She gasped. She could see the doorway that she entered last night behind Draco's back, glowing an eerie green in the dark of the dungeon.

"Now you can enter without me." Draco turned and faced the doorway. "Be grateful, Granger. You're only the second person outside of the Malfoy family to be bestowed with such and honor."

"And the first mudblood, I'm assuming." She said sarcastically.

Draco whispered the password to the door, and entered without answering Hermione, shutting the door behind himself.

Hermione stood alone in the now silent hallway, the light of the torches dancing across her face.


	9. Chapter 8

Hermione stepped into the bathroom in the girl's dorm and locked the door behind her. She rubbed the back of her neck. It had stopped stinging, but she still felt a slight burning sensation where his wand had touched her.

She turned on a sink faucet and splashed some cold water across her face. She stared herself in the mirror. _I should wear green more often_, she thought. The back of her neck seared with pain, and she winced, fighting back tears. _What the hell did Malfoy do?_

She pulled her curly brown hair up into a bun so she could see where Draco had cursed her. Snaking down the back of her neck was the faint silhouette of a dragon. As she stared at it in the mirror, it seemed to grow darker and more pronounced. _That idiot! What the hell_-

_BANG BANG_

Hermione jumped at the sound of someone at the bathroom door. "_Shit!_" She whispered to herself.

"What are you doing in there?" a voice called from outside.

"Err- just a second!" Hermione called back. She quickly turned off the faucet and pulled her hair out of her bun, making sure that the mark was completely covered. She scampered over to the door and unlocked it.

"Whoa, what happened to you?"

"Wha-what?" Hermione panted breathlessly. Pansy eyed the still-slightly-wet Hermione incredulously.

"What were you doing in here?"

"I...I was…"

"Besides flushing your reputation as little-miss-perfect down the can…"

"Wait, what?"

"I mean, its not everyday I see Hermione Granger, Head Girl, soaking wet in the Slytherin bathroom struggling to explain herself." Pansy raised an eyebrow and she looked Hermione over.

"I bet." Hermione slid down the door and sat on the floor. She started laughing to herself "Is there, like, a towel I could use or something?" Pansy smiled and laughed as well.

…

Draco lay in his four-poster bed and stared at one of the cold, stone walls that supported Hogwarts. Somehow, Slytherin seemed a different place than he remembered. It just wasn't the same as when he first arrived, when he was just a First Year. Then everything was so black and white, he believed what his parents had taught him and acted like the Malfoy he was supposed to be.

But now- now he was taking orders from Dumbledore, letting mudbloods into Slytherin, and protecting Hermione Granger; even letting her in on Malfoy family secrets.

He had even gone so far as to perform the spell that his grandfather had taught him, the spell that allowed her free passage though second entrance to Slytherin. That allowed her into one of the Malfoy family's biggest secrets. _And she's probably smart enough to figure it out_.

Draco rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. _I'll have to figure out what to do if that happens. Actually,_ Draco sat up and got out of bed. _I need to make sure she can't find out in the first place._

He put his robe back on and headed out his dorm and into the Slytherin commons. As he entered, he noticed that people stopped talking, and the room grew quiet. He received a number of cold stares from Slytherins of all years.

_That fucking Salazar…_

And he knew that things were only going to get worse.

…

Pansy sat on the edge of Hermione's bed and munched on a chocolate frog.

"I'm sorry about your things, Hermione." She mumbled, glancing over at Hermione's trunk, which they had finally managed to recover. On it was written 'mudblood' with a charmed paint that Hermione hadn't been able to remove. The majority of its contents were in even worse shape.

Hermione shrugged, but gave a remorseful glance at her trunk. "I knew where I was coming, I wasn't really expecting anything less." She sighed heavily.

"I guess I should take that as an insult." Pansy smirked.

Hermione paused and raised an eyebrow. "Is smirking a prerequisite for getting into Slytherin?"

"What?"

"Do all Slytherins smirk like that?"

Pansy smirked again. "I guess it's something I picked up from being around Malfoy so much." She smiled and looked dreamily into the distance.

Hermione snorted.

"What?!!" Pansy whined. "Come on, Hermione. He's really not as bad as you think he is."

"I doubt that." Hermione sneered. "Oh, Pansy!" She shouted, surprised.

"Mmm?" Pansy questioned, her mouth full of chocolate frog.

"Your hair!"

Pansy reached up and pulled a lock of her hair. It had turned bright red with streaks of gold with a level of frizzyness that made Hermione's hair look tame. She then looked down at the wrapper of the chocolate frog she had just eaten. It had come from Hermione's trunk. She swallowed ominously.

"I guess that was a bad idea." Pansy sighed.

Hermione laughed and pulled out her wand with a smirk. With a quick spell, Pansy's hair was back to its original color and texture.

"Thanks." She mumbled, barely audible, while she twisted a strand of her once again normal hair around her finger.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" Pansy questioned.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Hermione stared at her, with curiosity in her eyes.

Pansy looked away, and laid back on Hermione's bed. "Because Draco asked me to."

"What?" Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Why would Draco do that?"

"I don't care." Pansy sighed. "I'd do anything for Draco."

Hermione stared, open-mouthed. "Why?"

"Because I love him." Pansy said without hesitation.

Hermione gagged slightly.

"I knew you were after him, but Pansy, after talking to even for a few seconds I assumed you had a least part of a brain."

"Ouch, Hermione." Pansy pretended to grimace.

"No, I'm serious! I used think you were a…"

"Slut?" Pansy suggested.

"I was thinking more along the lines of self centered bitch, but slut works too."

"Ouch!" Pansy laughed.

Hermione chuckled. "Even though you said you were being nice to me because of Draco, I'm still grateful."

"How sweet, Granger." Pansy sneered. "And you're not the stuck-up know-it-all bitch I thought you were either."

"You're too kind." Hermione drawled sarcastically.

A silence fell over the duo, both lost in their own thoughts. Hermione was the first to break the silence.

"So you really love him?"

"Yes." Pansy stared at Hermione. "So I won't lose him to you."

"Me?!?" Hermione made a retching noise. "When hell freezes over!"

"I don't know, Hermione. It's pretty chilly down here." Pansy smiled. "I'm just warning you."

"I'll keep it in mind." Hermione replied cynically.

…

Draco leaned back in a leather chair, his chin raised snobbishly in the air. His blonde hair slid across his face as he leaned backward. He smirked in an arrogant fashion.

"So, Scorpious, keep your mouth shut and make sure she doesn't get into anything too…interesting."

The man in the portrait returned Draco's haughty smirk.

"You have no idea what you have done."

"Look, I'm not the first Malfoy to bring a Mudblood in here. You were." Draco raised an eyebrow at the man in the painting and sneered.

"You misunderstand me, Draco. I have no problem with what you've done. You know how I feel about muggle borns. I merely stated that you do not understand what you have done."

"What do you mean, Grandfather?"

The man in the portrait smiled at him fondly and sighed.

….

Hermione sat bolt upright in the dark, breathing heavily. She looked around, her eyes slowly adjusting to the overwhelming darkness. A white, hot, burning sensation shot down the back of her neck. She breathed deeply, but the pain wouldn't recede.

When she felt like she had control of herself, she took stock of her surroundings. The rest of the Slytherin girls had come in while she was sleeping, and Pansy had returned to her own bed. Hermione felt under her pillow for her wand. She felt relieved when she felt the smooth wood.

Pain shot across her skin once again and Hermione winced. _Now I know how Harry felt_, she thought. But his scar had stopped hurting when he killed Voldemort. _I guess I'm just going to have to kill Draco then_. She smirked at the thought of it.

Managing to find her feet, Hermione pulled a green sweater, which she had borrowed from Pansy, over the pajamas she was wearing, which also happened to belong to Pansy. She looked at her dim reflection in an old mirror by one of the beds. _I look like hell_ she thought as she pulled her hair up and pulled her shorts down. All of the clothes she borrowed from Pansy were small on her.

Another stab of pain reminded her of what she was supposed to be doing. She needed to figure out what Draco had done, and how she was going to fix it.

Hermione crept silently towards the door, resolute in her decision to deal with Draco. She needed to figure out just what spell Draco had placed on her. She was confused; he hadn't said an incantation so she couldn't tell exactly what spell he used. Despite all of her smarts, she was stumped.

_Agh! I shouldn't have spent so much time talking to Pansy! I should have been in the library!_ Hermione chuckled to herself. _Like spending more time in the library is really what I need._

She silently crossed the Slytherin commons, only bumping into furniture once or twice. Even in the dark, she could see the entrance into the secret room Draco had shown her the day before, when earlier that day she couldn't.

Hermione stumbled though the entrance, cringing as she tripped and fell on the floor of Draco's 'secret lair', as she had come to think of it.

"What the hell, Granger?!" A familiar voice growled at her. Hermione cringed.

Hermione stood up straight with as much composure as she could muster and glared at Draco. She, once again, pulled down her shorts and pushed a few stray curls out of her face.

"That's what I should be asking you, Malfoy." She replied icily.

Draco raised an eyebrow, but overall kept a disinterested look.

"So, Malfoy, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" Hermione turned and gestured violently at the back of her neck.

"Why Granger, I didn't realize you were into tattoos."


	10. Chapter 9

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!" Hermione shouted hysterically.

"Consider it a favor, Granger." Draco stared at her and smirked. "A dragon tattoo is sexy, and sexy is something you are seriously lacking."

Hermione glared at him. "Well then, I guess I should find some way to give you a brain to return the favor."

"Oh, how clever." Draco drawled. "Seriously, Granger. What makes you think I'm an idiot?"

Hermione gave him a venomously sweet grin. Draco shivered, mostly in fear.

"Because, Malfoy, you were stupid enough to do something like this and expect to live."

Draco looked at her, suddenly serious. "Trust me Granger, if I knew exactly what the spell was, I wouldn't have done it."

Hermione turned sheet white and gave him a look of horror. "You preformed a spell without knowing what it was?" She looked away, unable to face him. "I was joking before, but now I really do believe you must be an idiot." Hermione forced herself to look him in the face. He was even paler than usual. Which was saying a lot.

"What did you do to me?" She whispered.

Draco stared at the girl standing in front of him. Her hair was messy and out of place, and her fair skin seemed to glow in the dimly lit room. Her brown eyes seemed to burn holes into him. Draco sighed and closed his eyes.

"I was just in the middle of informing Draco on that matter, in fact."

Hermione turned quickly to find the source of the voice, and ended up tripping on herself. She fell backward and landed on Draco, who in turn snickered.

"Can't keep your hands off me, Granger?" Draco sneered at her.

"Go jump off the astronomy tower, Malfoy."

Draco feigned pain and clutched at his heart dramatically. "You're a heart-breaker, Granger."

"Get over yourself, ferret."

"You're the one who's on top of me, Granger."

Hermione glared at him and tried to get up, but Draco knocked her back down again with a kick to the back of her knee. He laughed violently as she turned pink in embarrassment and tried to get up again. Draco was about to knock her over again when he was interrupted by the sound of Scorpious clearing his throat.

"If you two can manage to keep your hands off of each for a moment," Scorpious said smoothly, "I would gladly explain the spell Draco was so eager to cast without thought of its consequences."

Hermione turned a violent shade of red. She quickly found her feet and moved to a distant corner of the room, where she focused all of her attention on the man in the portrait, ignoring Draco completely.

"Now, if you're through interrupting me…"

…

Hermione pulled her sheets across her. She snuggled into the warmth in an attempt to fight off the cold. She feel uneasy, like there was something that she should remember, that she had to study or homework she had to fix. It was an annoying, nagging, tormenting feeling that wouldn't leave her subconscious alone. It wouldn't let her rest in peace, but wasn't enough to make her get up and figure it out. She tried her best to just ignore it.

The clock chimed six, and Hermione slowly opened her eyes, but not without a groan in protest. The world around her was fuzzy and unclear, but she suddenly realized she wasn't where she was supposed to be. She wasn't in her bed, she wasn't in Gryffindor.

She blinked, the world coming into focus.

She wasn't even in the Slytherin dorms.

She blinked again.

These weren't even sheets.

She held the material closer to her face and studied them warily, their green trim glowing in the dim light.

They were robes.

And not the ones she had borrowed from Pansy.

As she slowly emerged from her semi-conscious and mostly asleep state, she took stock of her surroundings. To her surprise, she realized that she was, in fact, not lying in a bed, like she normally would be, but in a chair leaning against something. And that something was what had been keeping her warm. That something was the source of the robes.

She was soon awake enough to piece all this together with the help of a head of platinum blonde hair she soon noticed not to far away from her.

"_Malfoy!_" She whispered to herself, as she remembered the previous night in a flash.

…

Hermione stood motionless her eyes focused on nothing in general. Her mind raced, she didn't know how to comprehend this. She could only grasp one thing, and that was anger. And she had one person to unleash it upon.

"ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE, MALFOY?"

Draco cringed. He had seen this coming; he wasn't a stranger to Hermione's wrath by any means. This was just the first time he felt like he deserved it.

"Seriously, Granger. I didn't know that was what the spell was!" He said lamely, attempting to defend himself from her verbal attacks.

"A dark mark, Malfoy. A DARK MARK?!?"

Draco sighed. "Don't say it like that, Granger. It's not the same."

"It's the SAME SPELL, Malfoy."

He couldn't believe it. He had never felt like this before-regret, remorse? What ever it was, he wasn't going to show it.

"It's not dark, Granger." He drawled. "And I'm the one who should be disgusted. A mudblood bearing my mark? Unthinkable." He sneered at her, but it was only half-heartedly.

Hermione looked like she was about to explode at him again, but instead restrained herself and turned to address the portrait of Scorpious.

"What does this mean, exactly?" She said as calmly as possible.

Scorpious, who had remained silent during their argument spoke. "It depends. Generally, it is a spell used to show one's loyalty and belonging to a family or group, and can be used to contact the people who bear the mark. One must only touch the mark while thinking of the other person to call them."

Hermione paused and thought this over.

"Does that mean Malfoy has one too?"

"The mark?" Scorpious replied. "Of course."

Hermione smirked. _Draco, Draco, Draco. You're going to pay for this_, she thought while rubbing the back of her neck. She watched amusedly as Draco started to cringe.

"What the hell, Granger!" He shot back at her, massaging his neck.

"Oww!" She screeched.

"You started it!"

"You're the one who gave me this thing in the first place!" She retorted.

On the other side of the room, once again completely ignored, Scorpious rolled his eyes. "Teenagers." He groaned, and proceeded to vacate his portrait.

"Yes, well you're a stuck-up know-it-all!"

"Well at least I'm smart enough to know what a spell does before I use it!"

"Oh, not that again, Granger!"

"Yes, that!"

"Forget it already!"

"I can't! You won't freaking let me!"

"You started it!"

Hermione groaned. "I'm leaving. Don't you dare touch that thing, that mark again!"

"I'll do what I damn well please, Granger."

Hermione stood frozen in front of the empty portrait frame.

"He's gone." She stated blankly.

Draco looked over. "That bastard..." he moaned.


	11. Chapter 10

_I think I'm going insane._

_Mother's going to kill me._

Draco carefully observed the frizzy, brown haired girl sitting stubbornly on the cold, stone floor reading an old leather book. His eyes traveled up the pale skin of her legs, up the back of her sweater, and up to her neck, where he stared fixedly.

_Yes, I'm screwed._

…

Hermione bit her bottom lip nervously. She could feel his icy cool eyes fixed upon her, and it made her nervous, which only made her more nervous. She flipped a few pages in her book. She had just read the same sentence five times.

She couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop staring at me!!"

"Why Granger, I thought you were reading!" Draco said dramatically. "How would you know if I was staring at you?"

Hermione spun around on the floor and stared back at him.

"Just stop it, Malfoy. It's making me uncomfortable."

Draco smirked and raised an eyebrow suggestively. "I'm making you uncomfortable?"

"Just stop it!"

"Stop what? Making you uncomfortable?"

Hermione glared at him.

"I'm sorry Granger, but I can't help it if my irresistible charms make you so desirous that you can't stand to be around me any longer."

"Seriously Malfoy. You need to get over yourself." Hermione sighed and put down her book. She lay down on the dungeon floor and stared at the ceiling. "Why am I here?" she mused to herself.

"_Because my Grandfather is a sadistic prat and trapped us in here_." Draco muttered to himself. He still couldn't take his eyes off of her. _It's just because I don't have anything else to do._ He tried to convince himself.

Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled. A genuine smile. She laughed to herself. "I disagree Malfoy."

Draco stared at Hermione in disbelief. He hadn't ever seen her smile like that when she was around him. She usually only smiled like that when she was around wonder boy and the weasel. It made him… happy.

"W-what?" He stammered, trying to hide a smile.

"You're the sadistic prat."

Draco smiled. "Well, you are the brightest witch of our age."

Hermione shot him a disbelieving look. "Goodnight, Malfoy." She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes.

Draco watched, eyes wide and mouth slack. "You're just going to sleep there?"

"Yes."

"On the floor?"

"Yes."

"But you can't."

Hermione groaned and glared at him through sleepy eyes. "Why not?"

"Well," Draco started, "on the floor? It's so… degrading."

"No, Malfoy. Having people treat you like their inferior is degrading. Having people hate you for existing is degrading. Having people destroy your belongings is degrading. This is just a floor. Now, I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep on it."

Draco observed her carefully though his icy eyes. "But you can't sleep on the floor."

"Just because you wouldn't, doesn't mean I won't."

Draco paused momentarily. "You're seriously going to sleep on the floor."

Hermione sighed. "Yes, Malfoy."

Draco sat there, dumbfounded. Hermione closed her eyes and prayed that he would let it go. But her prayers went unanswered.

"You can sleep here."

Hermione's eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright. Draco was standing and gesturing to the chair he had previously been occupying.

Hermione gave him an incredulous stare. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What?! I'm trying to offer you a chair!"

"Yes. You're offering me a chair. You're not telling me that I'm sullying the very air you breath or that I deserve to sleep on the floor for that is where I belong, or something along those lines." Hermione looked him up and down. "You're up to something."

Draco pouted. "That hurts, Granger."

"Then explain."

"Explain what? That I was raised to be a gentleman as well as a pureblood?" Draco leaned on the back of the chair. "Despite what you believe, I'm not devoid of manners or common decency."

"Could have fooled me."

Draco smirked. "Yes, well that was the past. But now, we're in a slightly different situation."

"How so?"

"I gave you my mark, even though it was an accident."

"So what? I already knew you were a dumbass."

Draco glared at her, but was once again fighting off a smile. "It marks you as a Malfoy." He said slowly, as if he was talking to a child. "Do you understand? I basically forced you to join my family."

Hermione choked. She had, in fact, not understood or realized this.

Draco smirked. "And as much as I hate that fact, it does require that I treat you with some level of human decency. So, if you don't mind…" Draco gestured dramatically at the chair.

Hermione sat and stared openmouthed for a moment.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Hermione stood up and walked to the chair, but didn't sit down.

"But- but I can't take your chair from you." She stammered.

"Why not?"

"I just can't!"

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Wait!" Hermione said excitedly. "I have an idea."

She pulled out her wand and quickly muttered a spell. The chair expanded in length, making it large enough for the both of them.

"Now we can share!" She said with a smile.

Draco snorted. "What makes you think I'm going to share a chair with you?"

Hermione's smile fell and was replaced with her usual glare she reserved for him. "I was just trying to help."

Hermione sat on one side of the extended chair and curled up with her knees underneath her chin. She glanced at Draco for a moment, but then stared at her hands absent-mindedly.

Draco sighed. "_Fine._" He sat down, making sure there was enough space that he didn't touch Hermione.

"_Thanks._" He muttered, but it was loud enough that Hermione heard it. She smiled.

"Goodnight."

"Yeah, right."

…

"_Malfoy!!_" Hermione whispered again, a little louder this time. But Draco wouldn't wake up. Hermione gave a little groan. The charm she had placed on the chair had worn off sometime during the night, leaving the two of them squished together in a chair meant for one.

Hermione glanced at the clock once again. It was early, but there were probably students up already. She needed to get back to the girl's dorm as soon as possible. The last thing she needed was rumors going around about her spending the night with Draco.

"_Maaalfoy!_" She whispered in his ear as she shook him gently.

She was stuck. Draco's arm was wrapped around her waist, pinning her to the chair and making escape impossible. Not to mention she was fairly tangled up in his robes, which she had been using as a blanket for most of the night.

"_Draco!_" She breathed, pleading him to wake up.

Draco groaned and shifted his weight, trapping Hermione further. His rolled onto her shoulder, and he tightened his grip around her waist.

"_Wake up!!!"_ She elbowed him in the stomach.

Draco opened his eyes groggily and stared at her for a moment, his face only inches from hers. A lock of blonde hair fluttered in front of his face as he breathed out.

"Granger?" He mumbled, still semi-unconscious.

There was a short pause as Draco's mind slowly analyzed the situation.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Draco shouted, releasing her and in the process falling off of the other side of the chair.

"Good morning to you too, ferret."

Draco's head reappeared over the arm of the chair. He had a bewildered look on his face.

"Reconsidering my offer to sleep on the floor?"

Hermione watched as realization spread across Draco's face. She could see him remember the night before and the strange series of events that had led up to this moment. "Oh." Was all he could say.

Hermione raised an eyebrow and adjusted her clothes, which had come askew during the night.

"We should have conjured a couch." Draco mused.

"That would have been a good idea." Hermione agreed.

…

Hermione slid into her bed in the Slytherin girl's dorm with a sigh of relief, thankful for her luck. The commons had been empty and that all the girls in the dorm asleep. She looked over at her repaired alarm clock. She had ten minutes until it would wake her up.

_Well there's no way I'm going back to sleep_, she thought before slipping into a shallow sleep filled with dreams of green trimmed robes and blonde hair.

Meanwhile, in the boy's dorms, Draco didn't have as much luck.

"Gone all night, and you return in the same clothes you were wearing yesterday."

"I got laid."

"Niice." 

Draco rolled his eyes and crawled under his sheets, desperate for a few more moments rest.

_At least Slytherins aren't always the brightest,_ he though before falling into a deep sleep filled with dreams of sexy tattoos and frizzy haired brunettes.


	12. Chapter 11

Hermione stood in front of the mirror in the Slytherin bathroom pondering the many possibilities that her hair held. She groaned. She usually put her hair up in a bun, but today… well today she had to figure something else to do. The last thing she needed was for people to ask her about her new fondness for body art.

She lifted her hair up, exposing the tattoo at the back of her neck. She examined it thoroughly. _Its not that bad_, she thought, _it looks kind of sexy._ Hermione imagined herself in a hip muggle club, dressed in a skimpy outfit showing it off. She snorted._ Like that's going to happen_.

Sighing, Hermione let her hair fall, tumbling down her shoulders. With a small shake of her head, the mark disappeared under a wave of frizzy brown hair.

_Just the same old Hermione_.

…

Draco rolled over in his sleep, a grin plastered across his face. He slowly woke up, feeling relaxed and comfortable. But that didn't last long.

Looking around the room, Draco noticed that the dorm seemed oddly empty. Not just oddly empty- he realized- _completely_ empty.

"Shit!" He groaned, getting up. Checking the time, Draco realized he had already missed most of his morning classes.

_No point in going now_, he thought. He decided to take a leisurely bath and hang around the commons until it was time for lunch.

….

Hermione sat quietly in the Great Hall, slowly working away at her meal. Ron and Harry had only mumbled a few words to her before cramming their mouths full of food, as per usual.

"Did you notice that ferret wasn't in potions today?" Ron mentioned, having finished his meal.

"Yeah." Harry replied disinterestedly. "Probably was why Snape was in such a bad mood."

Hermione tried to tune out their conversation. She too had noticed his absence, though she assured herself she only noticed by chance, not because she was looking for him. She decided not to think about him, but Ron was making it very difficult for her.

"What a git. I'm still going to get him for what he did to you last night, Hermione." Ron complained loudly. She noticed that some Gryffindors were giving her strange looks.

Hermione flinched slightly. _What? How did he know? What does he know?_ She thought about sharing the night with Draco, then about the mark, panicking slightly. She rubbed her neck anxiously, a nervous habit she had developed some time ago.

Some distance below, Draco winced as pain shot through his neck. "_That girl, I swear_…" he muttered to himself.

"I mean, the ferret had no right to act like that towards you." Ron said, oblivious to Hermione's distress and the eavesdropping Gryffindors. "I was about to kill him right there, I swear." Ron wrinkled his nose. "Disgusting. I'm scarred for life, I swear."

"Oh!" Hermione sighed. "You mean the thing with Salazar Slytherin!"

Ron snorted. "No shit. And I thought you were the smart one."

Harry, on the other hand, was giving Hermione a curious look. "What did you think he was talking about, Hermione?"

She faltered. There was no way she could explain to them, they would kill Draco. But she couldn't lie to them either.

"Uhh…" Hermione thought intently on an excuse. "I guess I was just trying to repress the memory." She joked.

Ron grunted in approval, but Harry didn't look convinced.

Hermione, noticing this, decided it was time for her to leave. "I need to go to the library." Hermione said as she stood up, gathered her things, and left.

"Figures." Ron mused before starting at a new plate of food.

Harry paused a few seconds, watching Hermione leave the Great Hall. He noticed, though not to his surprise, that she headed the opposite direction of the library.

_I knew something was up_, thought Harry.

"I have to go finish some work." Harry lied.

"Yeah, whatever." Ron said between mouthfuls of food.

Harry grabbed his bag and left the room, following the direction Hermione went, determined to figure out what was going on.

…

Hermione wandered aimlessly, lost in a world of her own thoughts. She contemplated the implications of having Draco's 'mark', but just ended up once again wishing she were someone else. Some one interesting, someone who didn't have to worry about doing the right thing, about getting good grades. Someone who would have actually gotten a tattoo willingly.

Thankfully eventually she snapped out of her self-pity and thought about something else.

Namely, her two friends who she had, once again, ditched in the Great Hall.

She sighed as she realized that every conversation they had since she moved into the Slytherin dorms ended in a fight. Or more accurately, her running away from a fight so they wouldn't find out what exactly has been going on down in the dungeons. She knew they wouldn't approve.

It was a few seconds before Hermione was paying enough attention to realize she had meandered down to the Slytherin dorms.

_Not again!_ She scolded herself. _Next thing you know Ron and Harry are going to pop out of the shadows and start arguing with me_.

A few feet away, Harry, covered with his invisibility cloak, watched as Hermione whispered to an empty wall.

…

Draco sat in the commons, pondering if he should leave for lunch now, or wait until most of the first years had left. He decided on the latter and laid down on one of the many plush couches the Slytherin House contained.

Just as he was settling down, a small popping noise caught his attention. He knew that sound.

He sat up and looked down at a young house elf that was trembling in fear.

"A-a letter f-for you s-sir." The elf held out a red envelope.

"Fuck!" Draco grabbed the letter from the elf. He knew who this was from. He needed somewhere private to open this. He was a Malfoy; he wasn't supposed to get Howlers.

Glancing around the commons, he saw a few people lingering around, either finished with lunch or waiting like him. He dashed to the first place he knew he could be alone, the place where he went when he needed solitude. But as he passed through the painting of Scorpious Malfoy, he ran into something.

Someone, more specifically. And that someone fell on her ass.

_Shit!_ He thought as the portrait closed behind him. _Not in front of her!_

Draco stood frozen in place, staring at the girl sitting on the ground in front of him. That was when he started to feel the letter in his hand grow warm.

…

"_What the hell…_" Hermione groaned before she looked up and saw Draco with a look of pure horror spread across his face.

"I know you dislike me, Malfoy, but running into me here shouldn't be such a shock." Then she noticed a red letter in Draco's hand that was starting to smolder. Hermione giggled in a malicious manner. "A Howler, Malfoy? I thought you were above such childish chastisements."

Draco opened his mouth angrily to respond, but didn't get the chance.

"DRACO MALFOY WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! PERFORMING THAT SPELL WITHOUT MY CONSENT! ON A GRIFFINDOR NONTHELESS! YOUR FATHER MUST BE ROLLING OVER IN HIS GRAVE! DO YOU INTEND TO MAR THE HONOR OF THIS FAMILY? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? I EXPECT TO HEAR A VERY THOUROUGH EXPLINATION! Oh, and I hope you're having fun at school. Say 'hello' to Pansy for me."

The letter turned to ash on the floor where Draco had dropped it.

Hermione was sniggering, loud enough that neither Hermione nor Draco noticed someone else laughing from a nearby corner.

Draco glared at Hermione. He had been humiliated in front of the mudblood. He wanted to make her pay.

"What's so funny, Granger?" He growled.

"Your mother," she said with a snort, "sounded exactly like Molly Weasley."

A loud snort of laughter echoed from behind Hermione, and the two Head students turned and stared at the empty space.

"What the…" Draco started. But Hermione was faster.

"I can't believe you!!" She screamed as she clawed at the air where the noise originated. "Harry!"

Hermione connected and she ripped the invisibility cloak off of Harry, who was still trying to contain his laughter.

"I can't believe you!!" She screamed at Harry, who finally stopped his violent snickering.

Draco stood there, speechless. Harry Potter, wonder boy himself, had just appeared out of thin air in the one place he would never want to see him. And to top it off, he had been witness to his humiliation.

Draco was pissed.


	13. Chapter 12

Draco had his wand out, pointed directly at Harry's throat. Different ideas for curses flew through his mind so fast he couldn't decide which one to use. He glared at Harry venomously.

Hermione, who suddenly realized the tension between the two, stopped screaming at Harry and pulled out her wand as well. She was pissed at Harry as well, but he was her best friend and she wasn't about to let Draco do anything to him.

"Put your wand down, Malfoy." Hermione said slowly.

"Not until I hex wonder boy here to oblivion."

Hermione slowly walked over to Draco and put her hand on his arm, lowering it gently, gazing intently into his eyes.

"Don't worry. I'll take of it." She said with a smirk, once she saw most of the rash anger disappear from his eyes.

Draco smirked and chuckled. "Fine, I'll give you this one." He decided it would be more satisfying to see the golden boy taken down by a girl than go to all the trouble of doing it himself.

"Your such a gentleman." She replied sarcastically.

Harry stared at the two in disbelief. "What the hell is going on here?"

Hermione blushed and turned away from Draco, instead focusing her wrath back upon Harry.

"What do you mean? I'm the one who should be asking that!" Hermione fumed, avoiding the question and at the same time sounding a lot like Mrs. Weasley herself. "Why did you follow me here?"

"What were you hiding from me?" Harry retorted.

"Hiding from you? I wasn't…"

"What did you think Ron was talking about? What happened last night?"

"Leave her alone, Potter." Draco said as he stepped in front of the speechless Hermione.

"I don't believe this any of your business, Malfoy." Harry said as he pulled Hermione away from Draco.

"I do believe it is, Potter." Draco pulled Hermione back towards himself.

Harry glared at the blonde and tried to get between Draco and Hermione. "How so? Since when do you care what she does?"

"Stop it!!!" Hermione yelled as she attempted to separate the two boys who were coming close to either fighting or revealing an unpleasant truth. Either way, Hermione was going to try everything in her power to keep the two from doing something stupid.

"Leave, Potter. You don't belong here."

"What, and Hermione does now?"

"Yes."

"Quiet! Both of you!" Hermione said, though she was staring at Draco, silently pleading with him not to divulge anything without thinking.

They both ignored her.

"I thought you hated her."

Draco smirked. "I never said I didn't."

"She belongs in Gryffindor. I don't care what I have to do, but she's not staying here any longer."

Draco smirked. "Don't talk like you own her."

"Well she doesn't belong to you. I don't see your name written on her."

"Then you haven't looked hard enough."

Harry's grip tightened around Hermione's wrist.

"What?" Harry said, finally taking notice of the fact that Hermione was standing in front of him.

Draco smirked at Harry in a nauseatingly superior manner and pulled Hermione closer in a possessive way. "Get out of Slytherin, Potter, but Granger here is staying."

Hermione looked at Harry in distress, then at Draco. She didn't know what to do.

"Hermione…" Harry pleaded.

"This is ridiculous!" Hermione complained. "Both of you, let go. We all have class soon, and we're going to be late if you two continue to act like children."

"Fine. I know you're always telling me you can take care of yourself. But I expect you to explain _everything_ to me." Harry gave one last glare at Draco and started to leave.

"Thank you, Harry. I will."

….

Draco still had his arm protectively around Hermione when Harry finally left. He didn't even realize it until she spun around and was staring him in the face. Well, almost- she was quite a bit shorter than him.

"Are you daft?" Said peevishly. "Have you lost your bloody mind?"

"What?" he said casually, relishing her warmth against him. "What did I do?"

"What did you do?" She snorted. "You were acting like an idiot! You almost told Harry everything!"

"So? He's going to find out eventually."

"_Not if I can help it_." Hermione grumbled.

Draco smirked. "What's this? A Gryffindor keeping secrets and lying to friends? I thought you people didn't do that sort of thing. Loyalty and honesty and all that bullshit you Gryffindors stand for."

"Shut it, Malfoy." Hermione pulled away from Draco with a slight blush, having just realized how close they were. Draco seemed to notice the awkward moment as well, but managed to keep his cool better than Hermione.

"I'm serious, Granger. The only difference between you and a Slytherin is your damn preoccupation with right and wrong."

"That is the biggest difference in the world, Malfoy. Now if you'd excuse me, I need to get to class." Hermione turned her back to Draco and headed towards the exit, but not before she was stopped abruptly by a hand on her shoulder.

Draco spun her around so that they were face-to-face, only inches apart. "_I disagree_." He whispered as he stared into her warm eyes. He reached behind her neck and traced the dragon there, sending chills down her spine. "_See you in class_."

Draco walked past the unmoving Hermione with a smirk on his face. Oh, how he enjoyed tormenting her…

…

"Get off it, Harry. He was just trying get at you by using me." Hermione said quietly, trying to convince herself as well. She didn't like the fact that she wished otherwise.

"But Hermione…" Harry pleaded.

"Quiet!" a stern Professor barked at them for interrupting class.

"Just leave it alone!" Hermione groaned as she rubbed the back of her neck unconsciously.

A few rows in front of them, Draco flinched and clamped his hand on the back of his neck as well. He turned around and shot Hermione an evil glare.

Hermione flinched as well, the pain a reminder of why she should learn to break that habit of hers. Unfortunately for Hermione, Harry noticed this strange interaction as well as Draco's new tattoo.

"Hermione, what…"

Hermione inhaled deeply to try and give an excuse, but was interrupted by the professor.

"No talking during class! Five points from Gryffindor."

Hermione winced and went back to her notes. Harry did to, but not before slipping Hermione a piece of paper on which had written _We're talking after class_. It wasn't a question.

Hermione glanced at Harry and sighed. She knew she couldn't avoid this forever.

_Fine_. She wrote back.

…

Hermione had only stepped one foot out of the classroom when she was dragged into an empty room nearby. _Shit_ she thought,_ lost my chance to run away_.

She turned around to face the person who had pulled her in there. _Might as well get this over with_.

"Harry…" She started, but was speechless the moment she realized that the person who pulled her in there was not, in fact, Harry.

…

Draco Malfoy stared at the frizzy-haired brunette, who was gaping at him slack-jawed, and started to wonder why he had done this in the first place.

"My name's not Harry." He said simply.

"What do you want?"

"Good question." Draco said thoughtfully, more so to himself than to the girl who asked the question.

Hermione glared at him in her usual bossy manner. "Why did you bring me in here?"

He paused, and replied, once again, "Good question."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She said, her temper flaring. "You were the one who dragged me in here so why did you-"

Draco wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist and pulled her closer into him, their lips almost touching, eyes locked.

_Click_.

The sound of the door shutting. Draco's eyes left Hermione's to search out the origin of the noise. And there it was. Hermione could feel Draco's arm tense around her waist as he saw who had entered the room.


	14. Chapter 14

"Potter."

"Malfoy."

"Harry!"

"Hermione…"

Hermione had spun around to face Harry, but ended up tripping on Draco's legs, causing her to stumble forwards. Draco, in response, tightened his hold on Hermione's waist and pulled her upright into him. She blushed profusely, and was unable to find her tongue.

"W-wha-wha-what-" she stuttered blankly.

Harry stared at the pair with a mixture of hatred and hurt.

"So this is what you've been hiding from me?"

"_What_?" Hermione breathed exasperatedly.

Draco's upper lip twitched due to a combination of disgust and effort required not to laugh.

"Harry, there's nothing going on- this isn't what it looks like-" Hermione tried to explain as she wrestled free of Draco's grasp, though she didn't leave his side. She clung to the sleeve of his robe unconsciously. "We were just talking-"

"She was yelling, actually." Draco added.

"-and you walked in! Nothing was going on!"

"Me thinks she doth protest too much, Potter." Draco said airily.

"_You're not helping_." She whispered venomously.

Draco smirked at her. "Since when would I ever try and help you?"

Hermione let go of Draco's sleeve and whipped out her wand furiously. "You insufferable git! I've been trying to be civil, but you won't leave me alone! What do you want from me?"

Draco smirked haughtily, but before he could answer her question, an indignant look of repulsion crossed his face. "What's so funny, Potter?"

Harry, who was still standing by the door, was smiling and laughing to himself. "It's nothing I just- I just realized how stupid it was of me to think that you two were together. I mean it was ridiculous of me, you two loathe each other with a passion only rivaled in strength by Hermione's love of books. I don't know what came over me." Harry turned to leave. "Don't let me interrupt your bickering."

Draco glared at Harry's back. "Don't say bickering- it makes us sound like an old married couple."

Harry snorted with laugher as he shut the door behind himself.

Silence filled the room once again. Hermione glanced at Draco, awkwardly. He seemed to be smirking, as usual.

"Nice one."

"What do you mean?" Draco said innocently.

"You know what I'm talking about."

"You're insane, Granger. I didn't do anything." 

"Come on. You're telling me you honestly didn't do that on purpose? I –however much I regret it- know you better than that."

"I still don't know what you're talking about."

"You started a fight so Harry would assume everything is the same as usual."

Draco's smirk widened noticeably. "Oh, dear. Once again Granger's oversized brain has comprehended by devious tactics. What ever shall I do?" He said with a sarcastic flair.

"You're insane."

Draco's eyebrow jumped mischievously and he grinned at Hermione poisonously. "You think so?" 

Hermione grit her teeth and stared into Draco's eyes. "Why? I haven't seen anything to prove the contrary."

Draco grinned. "You are smart, Granger."

Hermione raised a quizzical eyebrow. "What's your game?" 

"What?" Draco moaned. "Not this again Granger."

"Yes, this. What are you doing? Why did you drag me in here?"

"I had something…important…to tell you." He said quietly as he gently reached out and pulled Hermione closer to him, his hand pressed against her back.

"Yes?"

Draco inhaled deeply and looked down at Hermione with his cold, grey eyes clouded. Hermione couldn't read what was going on in his mind as he pulled her in closer. She was nervous, frightened, and more than anything- she was anxious. Their faces were only inches apart. Hermione closed her eyes and-

BANG.

Hermione and Draco both jumped apart at the sound of the classroom door being slammed open.

"Harry-" Hermione started, until she turned around and noticed that it was not Harry, but Professors McGonagall and Snape, the latter having his arm wrapped around the former.

Hermione heard Draco gag audibly from behind her.

"Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy." Snape said curtly, dropping his arm to his side. "What, may I ask, are you doing together in an unused classroom?"

"What are you two doing?" Draco replied in horror, though swiftly regretted it.

"We are teachers. It is part of our job to… err… use classrooms." McGonagall said, though she was still incredibly pink. Hermione raised an eyebrow.

Snape cleared his throat and addressed Draco quietly. "We won't tell if you don't."

"Perfect. This never happened." Draco said quickly as he pulled Hermione quickly out of the room, slamming the door behind them.

"Are they…?"

Draco gave Hermione a disgusted look. "I honestly, really, don't want to know."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Lets never speak of this again."

"_Shit_." Draco muttered.

"What?"

"I just remembered- we have transfiguration next."

"That's going to be awkward." Hermione groaned.

Draco nodded and they both headed to lunch, though they had both lost their appetite.

…

"Are they… I never would have thought that…"

"Merlin, I just don't want to know these kinds of things about my students."

"Oh dear."

"What?"

"I have the them in my next transfiguration class."

…

Hermione was running breathlessly down a corridor lined with torches, each emitting an emerald flame that dimly lit the never-ending passage. She looked over her shoulder, vainly attempting to catch a glimpse of what was chasing her, but the darkness swallowed up everything behind her and clouded everything in front of her.

With a gasp she was frozen in her tracks. In front of her stood a boy of about seventeen, his silky blonde hair glowing in the semi-darkness, his silvery eyes reflecting the unnatural green of the enchanted flames.

"_I have something…important…to tell you_." He whispered, his eyes fixed on hers. He reached out and lifted her chin up, her face emerging from shadows into the verdant light. He moved closer to her, his lips only inches away from hers.

She was unable to run away, unable to move closer. She heard a voice behind her whisper, "_Ridiculous. It could never happen_."

"_But it could_." She whispered back.

"_He's just playing with you. It's just a game_."

"_What if I play along?_" She replied.

"_He's using you to get to Harry_."

"_Maybe he isn't._" She whispered into the darkness.

"_You're smarter than this, Hermione_."

"_What if I'm not?_"

"_He's going to hurt you Hermione._"

"_I know._"

"_He's going to hurt you friends._"

"I KNOW!" Hermione shouted angrily into the darkness.

Light flooded her eyes as the transfiguration classroom replaced the darkness of the endless corridor. She sat up straight as she realized she had been asleep.

But more importantly, she had just shouted that last part to the entire class.

Professor McGonagall turned pink and cleared her throat. "As- as I was saying Professor Snape…" She cleared her throat again at Draco's horrible attempt to cover his laughter as violent cough, "Professor Snape will be here in a few minutes to provide all of you with a simple potion which you will attempt to transfigure into a different potion. This type of transfiguration is especially difficult due to the complexity of potions and the many ingredients, as well as the inherent magical quality. You will be graded on how affective your transfigured potion is, and will be docked points if it has any qualities of the original potion. Furthermore…"

Hermione had stopped listening. Her eyes strayed to where Draco was sitting. He was still shaking with silent laughter. He caught her gaze and gave her a wink. She smiled faintly without meaning to.

"_He's going to hurt your friends_."

Hermione sighed as the words floated though her mind.

_No_, she thought sadly,_ if I keep this up, I'm going to hurt them_.

"Malfoy and Granger."

Hermione looked up in shock at the sound of Snape's sadistic voice.

"W-what?" She stuttered.

"You two will be working together. Come get your potion." Snape's turned into a cold, malignant, smile.

Hermione shuddered- first because their was nothing more horrifying than to see Snape smile, but secondly, and more importantly- she knew he was up to something.


	15. Chapter 15

Hermione stalked haughtily up to Professor Snape and snatched the potion out of his grasp. Draco had silently found his way to Hermione's side without her noticing.

"Sanguines potion? Into Polyjuice potion? You've got to be kidding me." Hermione jumped at the unexpected sound of Draco's voice. "That's ten times harder than anything anyone else had to do!"

Snape raised an eyebrow. "As Head Boy and Girl, I would expect you two to relish in the chance to prove yourselves." Snape drawled. "_And it might serve well to help you remind your little girlfriend to keep her mouth shut_." Snape added in an undertone. "Oh, yes- Mister Longbottom, your partner isn't here so you will be joining Miss Granger and Mister Malfoy here. _Have fun_."

Hermione inwardly groaned. It was only because of Hermione's intense tutoring that Neville had managed to get into seventh year transfiguration- which he had barely managed to do even at that. Now she feared that the combination of Snape and Draco in such close proximity would cause him to completely mess this up. Something she really didn't need right now.

Neville stumbled over his robes as he met up with Hermione and Draco in the front of the classroom, nearly knocking their potion to the floor.

"First time walking, Longbottom?"

"Malfoy!" Hermione scolded.

Draco gave her a '_you've got to be kidding me_' look but turned away and started to set up what they needed for the transfiguration.

"H-He-Hermione! How'd you do that?" Neville stuttered as he found his feet.

"Do what?"

"You told off Malfoy-and-and-he listened! He didn't say anything back!"

Hermione paused. She hadn't even realized it, but Neville was right.

"Granger here and I made a truce. Don't get your wand in a knot." Draco said casually as he returned to them. "Everything's ready." He added to Hermione.

"Thanks." She murmured, lost in thought. She sighed. "Lets get this over with…"

Hermione headed to where Draco had poured their Sanguines potion into multiple small vials for them to practice on.

"Now Neville," Hermione started to instruct, "you have to concentrate on the ingredients of the potion you are aiming to transfigure it into and the process it takes to make it. Concentrate and imagine it happening as you say the incantation. If you focus hard enough, the Sanguines potion should start to bubble and thicken, after which…"

…

Hermione and Draco sat back in the class room chairs, exhausted. It was five minutes until the end of class, and Neville had finally managed to perform the transfiguration at a passable level. Hermione was proud of him, most of the other students, who had much simpler potions to transfigure, didn't even do nearly as well.

Though she couldn't take the credit for his success. Surprisingly, after Neville had gotten over his fear that Malfoy was going to curse him every time he tried to use his wand, Draco had been able to instruct him fairly well.

Hermione glanced over at Malfoy, who seemed even more exhausted to she was. "Thank you, Malfoy. You were brilliant."

Draco smirked at her lazily. "I've worked with worse. I'm surprised, but Neville really isn't that bad, he's a lot smarter than Crabbe or Goyle. Just a bit twitchy." Draco watched as Neville almost fell over again because Snape had walked by.

Hermione looked at Draco and laughed. "I can see why you'd think that. You've only ever seen him when he's around either Snape or a classroom full of Slytherins torturing him." Hermione paused for a second, as if in thought. "Well, you've solved one mystery for me today."

"What's that?"

"How Crabbe and Goyle have managed not to flunk out of Hogwarts." She smiled. "You've been tutoring them."

Draco smirked. "Yeah, and compared to them Neville here's a fucking genius. You have _no_ idea. It took Crabbe the _entire_ first year just to learn how to levitate a feather. I even had to show Goyle which was the right end of the wand to hold."

"Seriously? I knew they were idiots but still…"

"Yeah. It's been a nice break having you around actually. I finally get to have some intelligent conversations-" Draco broke off at the sight of Hermione's shocked face.

_I can't believe I just said that…_ Draco thought, horrified.

_Did he really just say that?_ Hermione thought to herself with a mixture of shock and denial.

Meanwhile, Neville- who was still practicing- thought, _I can't believe I just did this spell!_

Snape was thinking thoughts along the same line as Neville.

"Longbottom!!" He shouted. Everyone froze and stared. Neville was shaking with fright. Snape smiled, enjoying his fear. "As Professor McGonagall stated at the start of class, I will chose one person to demonstrate the spell for us and his or her partner will have to test the transfigured potion. This was to encourage students to help each other, of course. And Longbottom- it's your lucky day."

Snape gestured to the large flask filled with potion sitting of a desk, and moved out of Neville's way, fearing for his safely more than Neville's convenience.

Neville looked back at Hermione and Draco, both of whom were looking at him desperately. He turned back resolutely and shouted the incantation.

The potion started to bubble and change consistency, becoming viscous. Snape looked disappointed. "Malfoy! Granger!" He spun on the two. "A hair!"

Draco pulled out a strand of silky blonde hair, while Hermione struggled to untangle a curly brown one.

…

"You did really well Neville! You saw how disappointed Snape looked!" Hermione said, trying to cheer Neville up.

"You really did Neville. It's a difficult potion… it could have been much worse." Draco added supportively as he ran his fingers though his shoulder length, slightly clurly, dirty-blonde hair.

"You just made it a little- too strong Neville. You did it too well!" Hermione smiled at him. "Anyways, McGonagall gave you good points for it." Hermione too stroked her slightly wavy golden, blonde hair.

"But-but it's my fault y-you guys are stuck like this!" Neville despaired.

"Don't worry about it Neville. If it doesn't go away on it's own –"

"Which I'm sure it will!" Hermione interjected.

"McGonagall said she could transfigure us back." Draco finished.

Neville smiled weakly. "Thanks- both of you." With a quick glance at his watch and a look of horror, Neville said a quick good-bye and sprinted in the direction of the Gryffindor commons.

Draco looked over at Hermione and started to snigger. She glared back at him crossly.

"You shouldn't be one to laugh, Malfoy."

He looked like a different person- he had long wavy hair that was darker, but still blonde. His face was rounder and his features less sharp and pointed, his eyes were brown but still had silvery specks of grey in them.

"I don't know Granger, I think this is an improvement for you."

Draco looked appreciatively at Hermione's new appearance. She was taller and her once brown, bushy, untamable, hair was slightly wavy, frizz-free, and a dark shade of blonde. Her jaw-line was sharper and more prominent, her noise more pointed. Her eyes had even attained an unnatural gold hue, she assumed as the result of her brown eyes mixing with his silver.

Hermione scoffed. "You're so narcissistic, you know that? You think I look better because I look more like you!"

"I'm just that attractive." Draco sighed melodramatically.

"Merlin, get over your self." Hermione said, but laughed at him nonetheless.

"Hermione!" A voice called from down the hallway. "Is that her… I can't tell…"

Ron and Harry had caught up with them. "Oi… I think it is…"

"Hermione?" Harry asked inquisitively.

"Yes?"

"So it still hasn't worn off yet? I'm sorry…" Harry turned to Draco who was standing next to Hermione and looked at him with a look of hatred and repressed laughter.

"I'm just glad I don't have a dick anymore." Hermione said relieved.

Draco, Harry, and Ron all stared at her in shock.

"What? It was weird!" She defended. "I can live with a different hair color for a week, but that-" she shuddered, "-that was disturbing."

"I _really_ didn't need that image in my mind." Ron shuddered.

"I don't mind the image of my dick in your pants, but just not like that." Draco said smoothly.

Ron and Harry went from pure horror to murder in three seconds flat. Had to use her entire body weight to keep them back, and the few inches she had gained in the past hour really helped.

"_He's-just-messing-with-you!_" She shouted at them while she struggled to keep them back.

"You know me too well, Granger." Draco said, his voice dripping with venom and a bucket of sarcasm.

Hermione scowled pushed off Ron and Harry so that she was face to face with Draco and they were stumbling backwards.

"I've been waiting a long time for the right moment to use this spell." Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it ominously at Draco. "Since fourth year, actually."

With a flash of light, Draco turned into a ferret. This time, however, instead of being albino in color, he had a coat of very light brown fur. The ferret ran up to Hermione and started to attack the hem of her robes.

Behind her, Ron and Harry had fallen over with laughter. Hermione scoffed and picked up the ferret and shoved it in her backpack. With a very sadistic smirk, Hermione turned to Ron and Harry said, "See you at lunch."


	16. Chapter 16

Hermione quickly muttered to a wall in the school's dungeons and slipped undetected into the hidden room Draco had shown her. She carefully pulled off her bag and set it on her lap as she slid into an expensive looking leather armchair that was placed near the bookshelf. There was just something about being around books that just made her feel safe. She glanced around the room and saw, to her satisfaction, that the portrait of Scorpious Malfoy was completely empty. Hermione hoped this would be the case, she didn't really want him to be around to listen in on the conversation she was planning with Draco.

As she sat in the chair, she mentally prepared herself. This wasn't going to be pretty-she could feel the ferret in her bag writhing ferociously. In a quick decision also pulled out her wand- just in case. She sighed and fumbled with the silver clasps of her book bag, feelings of regret starting to creep into the edges of her mind.

_Well, if it gets too bad I could always just change him back._ She smirked and felt a bit better. _And leave him here. No one else knows about this place- I'd never have to see him again…_

…

_Light!_

Draco scrambled towards the sliver of white that had just appeared at the top of the black abyss that was Hermione's book bag. Unfortunately for Hermione, however, she was still too preoccupied with her fantasies of getting rid of Draco once and for alls to notice that he had managed to break free.

Hermione stopped trying to open her bag and slid back into the chair, starring absentmindedly into space, her thoughts racing so fast she could hardly keep track, or notice how many involved the human form of the ferret that was currently scampering up her, or that most of those thoughts were of a less than malicious nature.

It was only when a tiny white ferret face loomed in front of her eyes that she noticed that he had escaped.

She screamed.

Draco jumped back in fight at the sudden noise, landing on her chest where he dug his claws into her robe and refused to budge despite Hermione's vicious swipes attempting to knock him off.

Once the shock had passed, Hermione leaned back in the chair, still breathing deeply from fright, and stared at the little white rodent that had lodged itself on her front.

It appeared to be glaring at her- for she could only assume it was, because it was, in fact, a ferret.

"Malfoy…" she warned, "I know you're probably mad at me right now, but you were asking for it. And all in all, it was for your own good. Now I'm going to change you back so you'd better not try any thing or I'll just change you back into a ferret again. Got it?"

The ferret paused for a moment and then nodded it's head. Hermione noted how very cute this was.

"Okay…" she muttered a few words and with a flick of her wand the ferret started to expand. It was at that moment Hermione realized that she had made a mistake.

"Shit Malfoy-"

The now fully human Draco loomed over her, his body trapping hers against the chair, her bag the only thing separating them. He held himself slightly above her, his hands on the arms of the chair on either side of her. His face was only an inch away from hers, his hair fell across her face.

Hermione noticed that most of the effects of the polyjuice transformation had worn off- he was back to his usual height and his face was nearly back to its original form. The only differences were that his hair was still longer, though blonde and straight. His eyes were also different; they still held some golden flecks within them.

"Malfoy, get off-"

Draco responded by pressing closer, his face filled with an intensity Hermione had never seen before.

"Don't ever do that again."

"Why not?" Hermione asked, feigning innocence.

"Merlin!" He said exasperatedly, "All those damn books! I was almost crushed to death!" He pulled the bag out from between them and threw it aside.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "So you're fine with me turning you into a ferret and whatnot."

Draco smirked and leaned even closer. "Not particularly fond of it, especially in front of Potter and the Weasel, but I'm adorable no matter what species I am." He cocked his head to one side. "Besides, I got a nice feel out of the experience." He said as he traced a finger from her sternum to her stomach.

Hermione pointed at Draco threateningly, but before she could do much more he grabbed it from her and threw it next to her bag, out of her reach.

"Look Malfoy, I'm sick of this. I'm sick of this game you're playing with me. If you want to mess with Harry, just deal with him. Cut me out of it." Hermione tried to break free of his pin, but only managed to succeed in getting him to trap her even more firmly than before.

"What the hell are you talking about, Granger?"

"This!" She said as she pushed against his chest in another attempt to break free. "You! You keep- you keep acting like… God! I don't know! You keep doing stuff like this!" She said as pounded her fist against him, not even causing him to flinch. "It's driving me crazy! Bloody hell, Malfoy!"

"It's driving _you_ crazy? Merlin, Granger-"Draco broke the space between them by grabbing her by the waist and pulling her into him, his lips meeting hers. Hermione responded with equal passion, as if this was not an unexpected event; on the contrary, one she had long been waiting for. The moment seemed to last forever, and Hermione secretly hoped it would, but at last the two broke apart, and the full weight of what had just happened fell on them.

After a moment's pause, Hermione broke the increasingly awkward silence. "This never happened."

"Right." Draco nodded, but didn't move off of her. Instead, he leaned forward and kissed her again, and, once again, Hermione responded passionately. Despite their wishes, and however unfortunately, they eventually had to stop to breathe.

"What, Malfoy? Is an argument like foreplay to you?" Hermione said as she leaned backwards into the leather chair, taking a deep breath. She couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face.

"If that was true, I'd be on top of Harry right now." Draco retorted, grinning at Hermione deviously.

"I'm serious, if you mention Harry one more time, I'm going to have to assume you're into him like that."

"Well who wouldn't be?" Draco scoffed. "He has such nice legs..." he said as he ran a hand up Hermione's thigh.

"Ah. I get it now… you're secretly in love with Harry Potter, wonderboy extraordinaire, and you're just using me to make him jealous." Hermione joked as she unconsciously played with a stray lock of Draco's hair.

"Yes. You're simply a tool to my devious schemes revolving around my illicit love affair with the boy who lived. I'm dreadfully sorry to have to inform you of this unfortunate truth."

"Please don't ever say 'illicit love affair' in relation to Harry ever again." Hermione said, pretending to gag at the thought of it.

"Don't be so narrow minded, Granger. Why couldn't it happen?" 

"Why? You're complete opposites! You're from different houses, have opposing views on everything, you're rivals, and you hate each other!"

"True. But the same goes for the both of us, you know. But here we are."

"But we agreed this never happened." Hermione said with a smirk. "Besides, you're both straight."

Draco sighed in defeat. "Well, I am at least. I was just trying to make a point, Granger."

"And what would that point be?"

"That things like that _can_ happen. You never know. The strangest things happen."

"Like whatever didn't just happen here."

"Exactly."

Hermione slid out from underneath Draco, and sat on one of the chair's arms. Draco rolled over and sat on the main portion of the chair.

"By the way," Hermione said in a falsely causal tone that failed to conceal her anxiousness and seriousness, "what exactly didn't just happen?"

"Fucking hell, Granger. I have no idea."

"Don't expect it to happen again."

"Not even in my worst nightmare."

"Revolting, really."

"Agreed."

There was only a second's pause before Draco pulled Hermione off of the arm of the chair so that she fell onto him, and they resumed snogging.


	17. Chapter 17

"That was bloody brilliant." Ron said in an awestruck voice as he finished his lunch and leaned back in his chair.

"I know you love food, but I think that's a bit much, even for you." Harry said sarcastically.

"You know what I'm talking about, Harry. Since Mad-eye left, or whoever he actually was, I didn't think I'd ever get the chance to see Malfoy in rodent form again. I'm going to have to get Hermione to teach me how to do that, though Professor McGonagall always says that human transfiguration is really difficult and all…" Ron paused for a moment as a thought struck him. "Where...where is Hermione?" Ron gasped. "You don't think anything happened to her? With Malfoy? If he changed back?"

Harry sighed. "I thought about that. She said she was going to meet us here, but I don't know where she went." Harry thought for a moment. "I don't think we should worry though, she keeps telling us that we should trust her and that she can take care of herself."

"So?"

"What?"

"The only time we ever listen to Hermione is when she lets us copy her notes."

"Touché."

…

"I don't want to walk down the bloody hallway with you, what if someone sees us?"

"Well I'm sorry we're going to the same place, Granger. I would walk behind you, but then you'd complain that I'm stalking you. I'd walk in front of you, but I don't want you staring at my utterly perfect ass." Draco said with a narcissistic flair. "Besides, who'd recognize you? You still have most of the effects of Longbottom's transfigured potion working for you." He looked her up and down. "Though you're starting to look a little more like yourself."

"You must be sooo disappointed."

"Of course." Draco drawled sarcastically. "Because having you look like me isn't unnerving at all."

Hermione stopped abruptly and stared at Draco. She leaned against a wall casually as she observed him with careful consideration, as if she was seeing him clearly for the first time in a long time. Draco froze and stared back at her.

"What?"

Hermione didn't respond, her eyes focused on his, unblinking.

"Now that," Draco said, trying not to blink, "is unnerving."

Hermione didn't laugh or even crack a grin. She stared back, solemn and serious.

"Would you done this if I didn't look like… like this?" Hermione said, her voice almost a whisper as she gestured to her altered appearance; her straighter, lighter, hair and her taller, thinner, more defined form.

"Don't start that, Granger."

"I want to know." 

"I don't want to tell you."

"Why not?" Hermione said, now using the wall for support as she shook slightly, trying to be strong and not lose face in front of Draco.

"Because I don't want you to know." Draco couldn't look her in the eye.

"Know what?"

"That…" He looked up at her face. "That I miss your bushy brown hair."

Hermione couldn't help her smile, but refused to give into hope- yet.

"Yeah, right." She responded sarcastically.

"Wow, that's a brilliant comeback. But I was being serious."

"Have you ever been serious?"

"I'm always serious." Draco said, mocking hurt.

"Right. Like when?"

Draco moved into Hermione, trapping her against the wall. When he was face to face with her, he pressed his lips against hers and wrapped her up in his arms after whispering '_right now_' so quietly that neither of them heard it.

…

Neville plodded down the hallway, occasionally bumping into whoever crossed his path. He was about halfway back to the Gryffindor commons when he realized why his rememberall had flashed scarlet when he had taken it out during lunch- he had forgotten to get his transfiguration notes back from Hermione.

He sighed melancholically and started the long journey to the dungeons, hoping to run into her after she finished lunch. Luckily for him, he didn't have to travel deep into he depths of the dungeons to find her.

"Malfoy, have you seen… Hermione! There you are!"

Draco jumped backwards in shock and Hermione moved a few feet away from him in a vain attempt to compensate for their former proximity. She straightened her robes and pulled her tousled hair into a loose bun.

"Sorry to interrupt." Neville continued, his voice not showing a hint of surprise at what he witnessed, only a sincere regret that he had to bother them. "I think you have my notes, Hermione."

"Neville!" Hermione squeaked, shock and horror keeping her from being able to control her voice properly. "We weren't… he was just… it's not what it looked like…" Hermione spluttered lamely.

"_Way to look innocent, Granger. Spout off every cliché excuse ever imagined_." Draco muttered to her quietly so Neville couldn't hear. She responded by discreetly smacking him when Neville looked away for a moment.

"Is this what you were looking for?" Malfoy said, addressing Neville. He had pulled a roll of parchment covered in an untidy scrawl from Hermione's book bag, which in their brief encounter had come into his possession. Hermione blushed vigorously and snatched her bag back from Draco's grasp.

"Yeah! Thanks!" Neville said enthusiastically, cramming his notes into his robes.

"Err…Neville… what we were, what you just saw… don't… err… we weren't… Harry and Ron don't need to know… what wasn't… err… happening." Hermione said awkwardly as Draco kicked her in the back of the leg to shut her up. He was relieved to see that Neville hadn't been listening to Hermione's rambling incoherent monologue, but was rather lacing up one of his trainers.

"So, Longbottom." Draco said, covering Hermione's rambling. "Did you notice? The effects of your transfigured polyjuice potion are almost gone."

"That's great!" Neville said brightly as he stood up. "Yeah, you're right! I was worried that it was going to be permanent… you know how badly I can mess things up at times." Neville glanced down at his watch. "Well I've got to go, I'll see you guys later."

Draco nodded.

"..err..yeah. Bye, Neville!' Was the best Hermione could muster.

The minute Neville was out of sight and earshot, Hermione turned to Draco and shot him a confused and questioning look.

"Did he seem, a bit… uh… unfazed?"

"He's not that good of an actor."

"What does that mean? I mean, what did he think was going on?"

Draco raised an eyebrow and shrugged noncommittally.

"Do you think he didn't… notice?"

"It's a possibility, I mean he's not always the sharpest tool in the shed."

Hermione sighed in relief.

…

As Neville headed back up the hallways towards the Great Hall, ascending from the cool darkness of the dungeons into the welcoming warmth and light of the upper portion of the school, Pansy was coming down the corridor in the opposite looking slightly cranky. _Well,_ Neville thought, _not that she doesn't always look like she just stepped in a pile of hippogriff dung._

Neville continued his route down the hallway with his eyes fixed on the floor, trying his best to remain inconspicuous and not gain any unwanted attention from the generally bitchy ice-queen of Slytherin. He hadn't heard any of the usual insults any in a while, but he figured his presence in the Slytherin-dominant area of Hogwarts might warrant an attack.

"Oy. You. Longbottom." Neville's head shot up in surprise at this surprisingly casual and non-insulting address. Pansy was standing only a few inches in front of him with a pained expression on her face, as if even being in his presence, much less addressing him, caused her physical discomfort.

"Errrr, yeah?" He responded awkwardly, not knowing where to look when talking to her.

"Have you seen Hermione?" Once again, Neville's head shot up in surprise, this time he locked gazes with Pansy curiously.

"Hermione?" Neville mused, shocked by the Slytherin's use of her first name, much less her name at all. He had only ever heard her address Hermione as 'the mudblood' before.

"Yeah. Have you seen her?" Pansy said coldly.

"Yes, but, uhh…" Neville wasn't sure how to explain the situation to the girl who was known for her constant fawning over Draco Malfoy. "She was with Malfoy, and I just interrupted them, so I don't think they'd want to be bothered again."

"She was with Draco?" Pansy said as she raised an eyebrow ominously. Neville cringed in fear of her wrath. "What exactly were they doing?"

"Snogging, of course." Neville said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"WHAT?" Pansy shrieked, causing Neville to stumble a few feet backwards. When he finally regained his composure and managed summon the courage to look her in the face, he saw, to his surprise, that she was smirking.

"And why, exactly," she said inquisitively, "do you not seem more, shocked, appalled, horrified, or even in the least bit surprised?"

Neville shrugged. "I was a bit shocked when I saw them together in transfiguration, but I guess it makes sense, in a way."

"And how's that?" Pansy said coyly, looking at Neville as if for the first time. She hadn't expected him of all people to be so perceptive.

"Well," Neville said carefully, still expecting her to unleash hell on him at any moment, "it's like they're on the same level… I mean Dumbledore did make them Head Boy and Girl, right? And they'd both do almost anything to achieve their goals." Neville paused for a moment. "Thought their goals are generally vastly different."

"Good and evil, crimson and emerald, right?" She said with a hint of distaste.

"Well, opposites attract, right? Besides, I don't think Malfoy's evil, really. Well, not so much anymore at least. Though again, I think that might have something to do with Hermione."

"No. He wasn't evil before Hermione either. But I do think her presence is making that side of him show up a bit more."

Neville remained silent for a moment, realizing he was actually having a civil conversation with Parkinson, a Slytherin, about to people they had both previously loathed. Then he realized that a lot of things had been going on today that he hadn't expected, most of which involved Slytherins not acting as horribly as they used to.

"Well, where were they, exactly?" Pansy said innocently.

"They were just down the corridor… why?"

Pansy gave Neville a mischievous smile. "You wanna spy on them?" She said as she held up a small wizard camera.


	18. Chapter 18

"Do you know what all that haze is in Trelawney's room is? Dean found out the other day when he showed up early for class."

"What, you mean the incense?"

"It's not incense, mate."

"Huh?"

"It's pot."

"Well that explains a lot."

"Yeah, like where Fred and George always got it from. I always thought they nicked it from the house elves."

"Well, at least we know why they liked divination so much."

"Yeah. Inner eye my ass."

"No kidding."

Harry and Ron walked in silence, contemplating this new information. They continued on their path around the castle, looking for Hermione in their usual hangouts.

"You know, I'm slightly regretting dropping that class now."

"I was just thinking that same thing."

…

"Fucking hell, Granger! What's wrong with you?" Draco said, sounding as concerned as was physically possible for him. He crouched down next to Hermione whose legs had given way, causing her to slide down the wall she had been using for support.

"Neville…that was too close, what if…I don't know…if…if…" Hermione half-whispered. "This. I can't do this." She murmured, her face pale and lifeless. "I hate you." She said bluntly as if it was a just explanation.

"Not nearly as much as I utterly loathe and despise you. Now get off the floor, I'm missing lunch." Draco countered in a bored tone.

"Well at our feelings are mutual." Hermione meekly smirked. "Why don't you just leave me here if you hate me so much?"

Draco gently lifted Hermione's chin up with his hand so she was forced to look him in the eye. "Granger, don't kid yourself. I will."

Hermione gave him a trace of a smile. "But you haven't."

"Yet, but I fully intend to." Draco gave her a sadistic smirk as he stood up and turned to walk away. "See you." He paused. "Soon."

Hermione stared at his retreating figure and saw him distinctively run his index finger down the back of his neck. He turned to give her a final smirk as she flinched at the twinge of pain.

…

"Shhhh! I think that's him! Come on!"

"Wha-what?!"

Pansy reached out and pulled Neville behind a statue of a wizard with a giant nose just as Draco strolled around the corner.

"Don't-make-a-noise." She whispered in his ear as they pressed against the statue in a vain attempt not to be seen.

Pansy watched breathlessly as Draco walked down the corridor leading to the statue they were currently hiding behind. She was unable to breathe due to the fact that she noticed he had a small smile playing at the edges of his lips, more than in an attempt to remain unnoticed. She had noticed he had been smiling more this year. A knot formed in her stomach. Ever since he was made Head Boy with Hermione.

"Pansy!"

She awoke from her thoughts at the sound of Neville's voice and let go of his hand. She blushed; she hadn't even realized she was still holding it.

"Uhhh…Pansy…" Neville held her shoulder to get her attention.

"What?" She looked up and realized that Draco had stopped and was glaring at them.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Hello Pansy." He paused a second. "Neville."

"Draco!" Pansy fawned, though less enthusiastically than usual. "What a coincidence…"

"Right." Draco glanced down at the camera in Pansy's hand. Noticing his gaze, she shifted it behind her back. She smiled innocently. "Don't tell me that's Rita Skeeter's old thing. I hope you're not following in her footsteps."

"Aww, Draco darling…" She cooed. "Of course I am."

Draco gave her a condescending look. "You two having fun?" He gestured to the statue they were crammed behind.

"We-" Pansy started, but immediately stopped speaking mid-sentence at the look on Draco's face.

"Just-" He looked at both of them in the eye consecutively. "Don't say anything. To anyone. Ever." He smiled maliciously. "Understand?"

"R-right." Neville said nervously.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Pansy smiled sweetly, but it didn't reach her eyes.

Draco looked them over. "Especially not Hermione."

Pansy said nothing to this, but Neville nodded.

"See you around." Draco said coldly as he turned away from them.

Pansy's eyes locked on Draco's neck, the image of a Dragon drawing her attention.

"Draco," she said, trying to sound indifferent, "is that a tattoo? Is it new?"

Draco's hand flew to the mark. He looked back at Pansy. "Yeah. I got it over the summer."

"Ouch!!"

Pansy looked down the corridor from where Draco had come. "What was that?" She asked Draco.

Draco immediately removed his hand from his neck at the sound. "Nothing." He murmured, distractedly. He glanced back down the hallway. "I'm going to lunch."

Pansy started at Draco's back until he turned around the corner and she could no longer see him. She sighed dejectedly. She felt a hand on her arm and looked up to see Neville's concerned face.

"Are you okay?" He asked cautiously.

"What do you care?" She said defensively.

Neville looked hurt. "I just thought… you like him right?"

Pansy gave him a look of fury. "Don't talk about things you don't understand, Gryffindor." With one last look she ran from him, down the hall in the direction of the Slytherin commons. She didn't even notice Hermione still sitting contemplatively against one of the stone walls looking lost and out of place.

…

Hermione was just about to walk into the Great Hall when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She spun around quickly only to find Neville standing behind her, still looking flushed and flustered.

"You might want to put you're hair down. If you don't want people to know."

"Know? Know what?'

Neville didn't look her in the eye. "If you see Pansy, tell her I'm sorry, okay?"

She stared open-mouthed as Neville left for the Gryffindor commons. She had never heard a message that was more cryptic. _Neville knows Pansy? And since when has Neville been giving me fashion advice?_ She absentmindedly played with a stray lock of hair that had fallen out of her messy bun.

Hermione shook the thoughts from her head and chalked it up as yet another mystery that was Neville Longbottom. Despite how she tried, she never could understand his erratic behavior at times.

With her hunger getting the best of her, she finally entered the Great Hall and proceeded to search along the Gryffindor table to find Ron and Harry, but to no avail. She was about to give up and sit with Ginny when she heard footsteps behind her accompanied by the sounds of Ron's and Harry's voices. She spun around to greet them with a slight air of nervousness.

"Ron! Harry!" She smiled. "Why aren't you guys eating lunch?"

Harry looked at her quizzically. "We finished eating ages ago. Lunch is almost over Hermione. Where were you? We looked for you everywhere."

Hermione blinked and processed the information quickly. "I was… picking up a book I left in the Slytherin commons. It's along walk, I guess I lost track of the time." She shrugged it off and picked up a sandwich from the table before the food disappeared. When she turned back around, the two boys were giving her strange looks. She returned their looks with an equally confused one.

"What?" She asked with genuine ignorance, which, for Hermione, was unusual.

"What's on the back of your neck? It looked like a tattoo or something." Ron joked lightly. Harry was giving her more of a critical stare.

"Oh that." Hermione said, feigning a casual tone. Neville's words ran though her mind. "_You might want to put you're hair down. If you don't want people to know."_ She swore at herself mentally. It seemed so obvious now. "I spilled some ink earlier, I must have gotten some on my hand and then rubbed my neck." She said dismissively.

"Really? I could've sworn it looked like something intentional." Harry said with an accusing tone that Ron failed to pick up on. Hermione wasn't as daft. She inconspicuously used her wand and some non-verbal magic to temporarily transform the mark into what she hoped would look like ink smears.

"Wicked!!" Ron mused when Hermione had allowed them a second look to determine if it the 'ink smear' actually was that. "It looks like you were attacked by a werewolf but instead of blood there's ink."

Hermione gave a snort of laughter. _I guess I went a bit overboard_, she mused. But at least it had served its purpose. It didn't look like a Dragon was tattooed on her.

"That's ridiculous, Ron."

"No, I swear…" Ron reached out to touch the mark to further elaborate his point when he was suddenly sent skidding a few feet backwards. Hermione took this chance to drop her hair down before her charm wore off. The frizzy brown curls covered it completely. She quickly glanced around to find the source of the magic, and what she saw astonished her.

"What the fuck is you're problem, ferret!" Ron growled menacingly, confused by the seemingly unprovoked attack, yet unable to give up a chance to fight Draco.

Draco, who was standing some distance away, froze as he realized what he had just done; he had only seen the incident by chance, or so he told himself, yet Ron's simple act had made him lose all reasonable thought and caused him to hex him on the spot. He regained his composure quickly. He was a Malfoy after all.

He faced Ron with his chin raised arrogantly high and a haughty smirk plastered on his face. In essence- his usual appearance.

"My problem? Nothing. It's just weasel hunting season after all."

Harry stepped in front of Ron as he started to lunge forward. He stood face to face with Draco and surveyed him from head to toe, critically analyzing what he saw.

"You know, all day I've had a weird feeling about you two. But every time I saw something that made me suspicious, I just told myself that I was imagining things- that you two loathed each other. But I saw that tattoo on Malfoy's neck, and I thought I saw the same thing on you a few seconds ago. And now you're hexing Ron because he gets to close to Hermione? Something is going on, and I'm not going to pretend I'm imagining things anymore." Harry glared at Draco, then shifted his look to a guilty looking Hermione. She didn't know how she was going to get out of this one. And despite what Draco had said earlier about everyone finding out eventually, he didn't seem too thrilled with the idea of exposing the truth in such a public place.

There was a long silence. Hermione's eyes darted back and forth between Harry and Draco. With a quick glance at her watch, she decided to break the silence. "Look, everyone's already left, class starts in a minute. If we don't leave now-"

"Stop. You're not getting out of answering my question again."

"Harry," an anxious Ron supplied, "come on. She's right; we are going to be late. Let's just talk about whatever this is tonight. Hermione can come up to the Gryffindor tower and we can discuss it there. Without-" he jerked his head in Draco's direction, "certain ferrets."

Draco twitched at the use of this nickname. He remembered with annoyance the fact that both Wonder-boy and the Weasel had been there when Hermione went a bit spell-happy earlier. He gave Ron a sneer, but did not contradict him, for he too was anxious to get out of the situation. Potter had seen too much, knew too much, and wasn't enough of an idiot not to figure it out.

When nobody moved, Ron took it as a sign that he needed to make things happen. He hadn't seen what Harry had, and as far as he knew, Harry was just acting overprotective (as per usual) and paranoid (as per usual). Ron was just concerned with getting out of this awkward situation, and Hermione away from the strangely behaving Draco.

"Come on." Ron said as he reached out to Hermione, to pull her away from the scene.

Without thinking Draco instinctively pulled Hermione away from Ron's grasp, pulling her protectively close to himself instead.

Hermione shivered at his touch. Her mind went blank; she could sense his presence all around her and she felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. This gesture, she felt, betrayed all that had happened in the past hour, the past day. It confirmed and made real all that she had been denying, more so than even what she felt when Neville had seen them together. She couldn't handle it.

"Don't touch me." She whispered with venom that had never touched her voice before. She removed herself from his grasp and silently left the Great Hall without another word. With a second's pause, Ron followed after her, quickly catching up with her but without saying a word to her. Harry gave Draco an empty stare and stalked off after the two, though he kept his space.

Draco stood alone in the empty hall, and this time it was he who felt as if he couldn't breathe.

"Fucking mudblood." He muttered violently to himself as he walked out of the Great Hall with the firm decision to skive off the rest of his classes that day.


	19. Chapter 19

"Bloody, fucking mudblood. Fucking, bloody mudblood." Draco muttered as he ran his hands through his hair while he paced back and forth in front of Scorpious's portrait.

Scorpious rolled his eyes and messaged his temples as if to rub away an irritating headache. "You really expected less?" Scorpious sighed. "After what you've done to her?"

"What, the mark? It not like she _has to marry me_ or anything…"

"I wasn't referring to the mark Draco, though I do believe you should tell her what's expected of her because of this. She still thinks it's just a pretty little tattoo." Scorpious paused a moment. "What I meant, was, that you shouldn't just expect her to act like your girlfriend-"

"Girlfriend!" Draco interjected. "That mudblood? Never-"

Scorpious gave Draco a disapproving glare that silenced him. "-or 'love slave'" Draco gagged, "or whatever the hell you tell yourself she is to you. You can't expect her to forget all the horrible things you've done to her and her friends over the years. You can't expect her to choose you over them."

Draco paused and thought about what he had said. "I don't want her to be my girlfriend. I don't want anything more to do with that filthy muggle-born than I am required to do." He said defensively.

Scorpious smirked. "Then why are you so upset she's feels the same way?"

"She never said- it was just because of Potter and the Weasel-" Draco stopped before he could anything he would later regret. "I just don't like the fact that _she_ would act such a way around _me_. I'm the one who should be disgusted by this whole affair." He said with his usual air of arrogance.

"Really." Scorpious gave Draco a blatantly disbelieving look.

"Yes." Draco said with finality. "You're the mudblood lover, not me. I just got into this mess by accident, because of you and that stupid spell of yours."

"Of course." Scorpious said sarcastically. "And it's also _my_ fault you couldn't stop eating her face all afternoon."

…

Hermione sat on her bed that night and flipped though a large book without actually reading any of it. The room was completely silent; the only noise was the occasional turn of the page. The room was nearly empty once again, Hermione and Pansy were the only current occupants. The rest of the Slytherin girls they shared the room with opted to say in the commons until they didn't have to risk having to talk to Hermione. She didn't mind, she wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. Thankfully, it seemed Pansy felt the same.

"_Hermione!_" She jumped at the sound of the familiar voice. It was a voice she shouldn't be hearing in the Slytherin dorms… "_Damn it Hermione! Answer me! I need to talk to you!_"

Pansy looked up at the sound of a male voice in the room. No matter how bad she felt, juicy gossip always made her feel better. She looked across the room to where the voice was coming from, but all she saw was Hermione frozen, staring with a look of confused surprise at her trunk.

In a flash of realization, Hermione threw open her trunk and grabbed the little black box Harry had given her. She pried it open and grabbed the shard of mirror inside so quickly that she accidentally cut her hand. She pressed the wound against her robe to stem the flow of blood as Harry's face appeared on the shard of reflective glass now lying on the sheets of her bed.

Having completely forgotten about Pansy's presence, Hermione shouted at the mirror fragment. "Harry! Merlin, what?"

"What- is that blood?"

"I just nicked myself on the mirror, Harry. You startled me." She said dismissively.

"I'm sorry. It's just- I really need to talk to you about what happened today." Harry said concernedly.

"Well, I'm not sure I do. There's nothing to talk about anyways." Hermione said, her voice had regained its icy tone of their last encounter, when Harry had tried to talk to her in their last class. She had ended up pairing up with Neville to practice just to get away from him.

"Come on. We haven't really talked to you in ages. Ron was right, come up to Gryffindor tonight. You can stay with Ron and me, Dean is in the infirmary again and I don't think he'll be back until at least tomorrow afternoon."

"Harry…" Hermione groaned.

"Hermione, I'm not taking no as an answer." Harry said with a brotherly tone. He gave her a friendly smile.

"But Harry…"

"Come on, Hermione. You're Head Girl, no one's going to say anything if you're out after hours. We just want to see you. We won't even talk about anything you don't want to. We just really miss you, Hermione. Come on, please?" Harry begged.

Hermione sighed. She had missed her two best friends, she couldn't deny it. "Fine. Just as long as you two promise not to be gits."

"We won't, we won't. I'll tell Ron." Harry smiled. "See you in a few."

Hermione smiled back and carefully placed the shard of mirror back in its box. Now the only question was how to sneak out without a lot of angry Slytherins interfering. Hermione looked up and saw Pansy sitting on her bed, fixing her hair in a hand held mirror. Hermione smirked as she caught Pansy's eye in the mirror. She knew she had been listening.

"Sooo…" Pansy said with an air of mischief, "Need some help sneaking out, do we?"

…

"That was brilliant!" Hermione said as she clutched at her sides with laughter. "But please, change my hair back. I'm not terribly fond of snakes."

Pansy snorted and with a flick of her wand Hermione's hair changed from a mass of Medusa-like snakes back into its usual appearance.

"And by the way, I don't think it counts as 'sneaking out' when you make a scene in front all of Slytherin."

Pansy shrugged as to dismiss the idea, though she had a huge grin plastered across her face. "Call it improvisation. Anyways, I think I'm the new official hero of Slytherin for 'getting rid' of their Gryffindor problem."

"The last time I heard that much cheering coming from Slytherins was when Harry fell of his broom because of the Dementors."

"I remember that." Pansy said with a snort. "Good times."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, I'll see you later, I guess. Have fun with your new fan club."

Pansy raised an eyebrow as she gave Hermione an incredulous look. "You didn't really think I was going back there, did you?"

"What? Why not?"

"Things are so much more interesting out here." Pansy said deviously. "Besides, I've never been to Gryffindor. Should be interesting."

Hermione stared at her blankly. "You're kidding, right?"

"Merlin's beard, Hermione. I'm a Slytherin. I don't have a sense of humor."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the sarcasm and sighed resignedly. "Fine. I get the feeling I couldn't stop you if I wanted to, anyways."

Pansy smirked. "Quite right."

"Well, don't expect a happy welcome. Despite what we Gryffindors are made out to be-"

Pansy choked back laughter.

"-we can be just as vicious as Slytherins at times. Just consider yourself warned."

"Blah, blah, blah. I get it. Now where is this place, anyways?"

…

Hermione and Pansy slowly made their way up to the Gryffindor tower, their way impeded by constantly taking obscure routes that Filch was less likely to be sulking in. At one point they had to lose Peeves, who would float behind them while swearing perversely and flinging chalk at them. Hermione was surprised, however, when this encounter with the poltergeist was cut short when Pansy got pissed and out cussed him. The two girls had left the stunned Peeves floating in the middle of the second floor corridor.

"I think I only understood about half of that." Hermione said when they were out of Peeves' range.

Pansy raised her shoulders thoughtfully. "You pick stuff up when you hang out with a bunch of Slytherin guys all the time."

The pair continued for a while in silence until Hermione remembered something from earlier that day.

"Pansy, do you know Neville?"

Pansy's pale face whitened, though Hermione couldn't see it in the dark. The coldness in her voice, however, Hermione did hear. "I ran into him in the hall today. Why?"

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know, he told me to tell you he was sorry." She looked over at Pansy. "What did he do?"

"Nothing. He was just being a Gryffindor, I guess." Pansy said as she passed by a window. In the second's worth of moonlight, Hermione saw the trace of a smile on the Slytherin's lips.

…

"Is it just me, or is this taking a _really_ long time." Pansy whined to Hermione after they had been hiking around the castle for about ten minutes.

"Err…" Hermione glanced around. She had already passed this painting a minute ago. "Well, it was always Harry who was good sneaking around after hours and finding secret passages and whatnot."

"So we're lost?!"

"It looks different in the dark!"

"You can't even find your own House?"

"Yeah, well you're whining doesn't really-" A strong arm suddenly reached out of the darkness and pulled her quickly and silently though what was previously a solid wall. "-help!" She glanced around. The room was smaller than a classroom, and it appeared as if it was set up for someone to live in it, for it had a small kitchen-like area and a bed in the corner.

"What the hell?" Hermione turned in a circle and ran into the person who had pulled her into this room in the first place.

"That's _my_ question, Granger."

Hermione froze at the sight of the tall blonde.

…

Outside of the room at that exact moment, Pansy paced back and forth down the empty corridor. "Hermione? Hermione? I'm sorry I complained, I'm sure you can find your House, but I have no idea where we are so stop hiding…"

…

"What the bloody hell is going on, Malfoy? Where are we?" Hermione said coldly as she backed away.

"I thought you, having such an active role in Dumbledore's Army, would recognize the room of requirement." Draco sneered viciously.

Hermione mentally scolded herself for her stupidity. How could she have thought she was lost? "That still doesn't explain why you are here, what you're doing, or why you dragged me in here." She countered.

"Are you serious?"

"What? About what?"

A flit of emotion passed on Draco's face, gone too quickly for Hermione to decipher what it was. "You. So everything's back to the way it was?"

Hermione fidgeted unconsciously. "I don't know what you mean."

Draco moved closer to her, she moved farther back in response.

"Really." Draco tilted his head and studied her expression with an air of indifference. "You don't have any memories of anything unusual happening today? Nothing happened that I would possibly want to bring up?" Draco moved closer still, and Hermione was almost trapped against the back wall.

"What are you doing in here?"

"I needed a break from Scorpious. This is the only other place to find some solitude in this castle." Draco said casually. "Though don't change the subject, Granger."

Hermione started the breathe harder as she realized she was cornered, literally and metaphorically.

"What do you want from me?" She simply said.

"Come on, Granger. Don't tell me you're not enjoying this witty banter we have going on here." Draco said sarcastically. "Though I must say, you're not doing very well at holding up your end of the argument."

"Shut up, Malfoy." Hermione said as she tried to edge her way closer to the door, and to freedom.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about, Granger." Draco said as he blocked her escape attempt by standing directly in front of the door. "If that's what you call wit, then I think we have a problem."

Hermione stood in front of him, trying to reach around his torso to get at the door handle. "Really. Me not having a witty response ready at a second notice is our problem. Really. Not the fact that we despise each other, everyone one we know despises each other, and nothing ever could work out?" She blinked in an attempt to stop unexpected tears that seemed to be longing to fall from her eyes without apparent reason.

Draco grabbed Hermione and flipped her around so that it was her back against the door, and he was pinning her against it. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." He brushed a hand across her cheek. "I can deal with all of those things, but I don't think I could deal with someone who lacked a witty retort to my ingenious insults."

Hermione couldn't help but give a small, bittersweet smile. "I think you're oversimplifying things."

"And what if I am?" He leaned in closer to Hermione, his breath playing with her hair. "What happened to that Gryffindor bravery you're always talking about?"

She turned her face so that she wasn't looking him in the eye. "What ever bravery I used to have seems to evaporate when you're around." She gave a weak attempt at a smirk. "Merlin, I can't even think straight. I can hardly breathe."

"For once in your life, Granger, don't think." He smirked. "Though I would recommend breathing."

"You're supposed to hate me." She whispered.

Draco froze. "What?"

"I thought that if you stayed away, things could be normal again. That I could forget whatever it was that happened today. Just pretend it didn't exist, that it was just a fluke."

Draco bushed a few stray hairs away from Hermione's sullen face. "So that's what your little outburst after lunch was about." He smirked. "Well, it seems you failed. Apparently it takes a lot more to mortally offend me than it used to."

Hermione smiled and looked up at him slowly. "I guess I'll just have to try harder."

"That's the spirit, Granger." Draco said as he pressed her against the door and kissed her fervently his arms pulling her as close as possible. Hermione slowly closed her eyes and gave in.


	20. Chapter 20

Pansy paced back and forth down the corridor nervously. _I need to find Hermione, I need to find Hermione, I need to find- what the?_ Pansy looked at the previously empty wall in surprise, as there was now a large door there. Cautiously, she reached towards the door and pulled it open.

"Hermione?" She whispered as she peered around the edge of the door.

…

They didn't realize what was happening at first. One moment Hermione was running her hands through Draco's hair as he pressed her closer to the door- the next moment she was falling. She gasped and closed her eyes as she braced for the impact of the ever-nearing stone floor, clinging to Draco in anticipation. She felt herself turn and Draco's hold on her tighten, and the hard impact she was expecting was replaced with a loud thud and a cushioned landing.

Hermione finally opened her eyes when she was satisfied she had stopped falling; the dropping feeling in the pit of her stomach had remained even after she had landed.

She felt Draco's chest heave underneath her as he regained his breath. So that was what she had fallen on, she concluded. Lifting her head off of his shoulder, she propped herself up on her arms so she could see his face. This was fairly difficult, for he was still holding her tightly and she could hardly move.

"Are you all right?" She whispered concernedly.

"Merlin, what the fuck was that?" He moaned painfully without opening his eyes.

Hermione looked up slowly and saw a completely petrified Pansy sitting on the floor staring back at her.

Apparently she too had fallen.

"Oh." Hermione breathed as she figured out what had happened. Pansy had managed to open the Room of Requirement. And as far as she could tell, had seen what they had been up to. A blush started to creep up her face as she realized she was still lying on top of Draco in a very compromising manner.

"Well, never mind. Where were we?" Draco said, still ignorant of their company. With a smirk he flipped their positions so he was on top, pinning her to the ground.

Hermione stared back at him with a look of blatant disbelief. "ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?"

"What?" He said innocently. Hermione nodded her head in Pansy's direction and Draco looked up. "Oh." He said as he saw here. "Go away Pansy."

"What the hell, Malfoy?!" Hermione scolded as she tried to wriggle free, though she stopped when she noticed how much Draco seemed to be enjoying it.

"What?" He shrugged casually. "Its just Pansy." He looked up at Pansy with a contemplative look on his face. "Why are you even here?"

"She was here the whole time, you idiot! Didn't you see her when you abducted me?!"

"Obviously not, Granger."

"You're so rude, Malfoy!"

"_You_'re lecturing me on being rude?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Language, Granger."

"What?! _You_ just said 'fuck' like a minute ago!"

"I'm a man. I get to swear."

"That's so sexist!"

"Wait, what about sex?"

"I said _sexist_ not _sex_ you pig!"

"You see, this is what I mean when I was talking about 'witty banter' earlier." He said with a smirk. "And I'm not a pig, you were the one talking about sex."

"I said _sexist! SEXIST!_"

"Look, there you go again! Sex, sex, sex. Is that all you think about?"

That was when the heard the strangest noise. Hermione choked back her retort as he strained to figure out what it was. Hermione shifted her head. It sounded like it was coming from Pansy. She listened harder. It sounded like--- laughter?

"I think she's gone completely batshit seeing me with another woman." Draco whispered in Hermione's ear with feigned seriousness.

Hermione took the opportunity of Draco's shift in weight to slide out from underneath him. She rushed over to Pansy nervously.

"Pansy! Are you all right?" She asked quietly. "I'm so sorry- I never meant for this to happen- I didn't think about-I know you like him-" Hermione paused and raised an eyebrow. Pansy had started laughing harder.

"I told you," Draco said as he joined Hermione next to Pansy, "_batshit!_"

"_Shut up!_" Hermione whispered violently as she slapped Draco lightly across the shoulder.

"Pansy?" Hermione said carefully. "Are you all right?"

Pansy sighed deeply but was smiling. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Seriously Granger- you have no idea. I mean, I didn't even know how _fine _I was with it until I saw you two together."

Draco raised an eyebrow curiously.

Hermione stared blankly. "Err, what?"

Pansy smiled at her. "I saw you two together-" Hermione started to turn red. "-and I realized I didn't even care!" She laughed again. "I guess this means I'm over you, Draco."

"I'm completely offended." Draco said sarcastically. "Who could _possibly_ be better than me, Pansy?"

Hermione broke into a huge grin and latched onto Pansy as she gave her a huge hug. "Thank you!" She breathed as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her chest.

Pansy rolled her eyes and smirked. "Damn, Hermione. I didn't mean I swing _that_ way. And I'm not interested in a threesome with a chick."

Hermione pulled away and gave her a smirk of her own. She opened her mouth to reply, but stopped and stared at Draco with her mouth sill open slightly.

"What?" He demanded, confused.

Hermione didn't say anything. With the same blank look on her face, she leaned into Draco so that their faces were level. When their noses were almost touching, she reached a cautious up and brushed her fingers though his light blonde hair that was illuminated by a small spot of moonlight.

"_Oh my god!_" She whispered quietly.

"Yes, I know I'm gorgeous. You finally noticed?" He said with an arrogant sneer.

"No-"

"I am too gorgeous!"

"Yes, but that's not what I meant! You're bleeding!" Hermione brought her hand in front of his face so he could see. On the tips of her fingers his blood shone darkly.

"Ah, crap." He paused. Suddenly a huge grin appeared across his face. "You admitted you thought I was gorgeous! I knew it was only time…"

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, you arrogant prick. We have to get you to the infirmary."

…

"Shh! Quiet! People are trying to sleep!" Hermione criticized.

"You're the one making the racket!" Draco responded.

"You're the one trying to grope me!"

"Me? Never! Come on, that was an accident. Its dark in here, how was I supposed to what that was?"

"Basic anatomy! What else would be there?"

Pansy stood behind the two and tried not to laugh. She was failing.

Between the group of them, there was enough noise not only to wake the entire infirmary, but to rouse Madame Pompfrey from her room next door as well.

"What is going on here? It's past curfew! Who-" The nurse stopped mid-sentence and stared wordlessly as she saw the scene that was playing out in front of her.

Draco was leaning on Hermione for support with his head resting against hers, and his arm was draped around her shoulder in such a way that his hand was precariously close to her chest, so that Hermione was continually swatting it away, for it seemed to perpetually draw closer.

Both parties froze as they saw each other. The awkward silence was only broken when Draco's hand once again inched closer to Hermione's wrath. Hermione furiously swatted it away as a bight blush ran across her face.

"Err, Madame Pompfrey, Draco slipped on a rug and hit his head and it's bleeding." Hermione said in an awkward voice as the nurse continued to stare at them as if she was still dreaming. She blinked several times as if she expected to wake up.

"Madame Pompfrey?" Hermione prompted.

"Oh. Yes. Of course." The woman said as she snapped out of her trance. "Over here, if you could." She gestured towards an empty white bed, still staring profusely.

Hermione led Draco to the bed and left him with relish. When she was no longer burdened by his extra weight, she stretched her shoulders casually. Still blushing from the nurse's continuing gaze, Hermione mumbled an explanation.

"We-er-found him in the commons, and he-uh- couldn't walk by himself because he was dizzy, so we-um- brought him here even though it's past curfew." She said lamely. Pansy smirked from behind her. Hermione was crap at lying. Pansy figured it must be a Gryffindor thing.

Draco on the other hand, she mused, was an excellent liar. He had flawlessly convinced Hermione that he was to dizzy from 'blood loss' to 'stand on his own' and Hermione, being the valiant, trusting, Gryffindor she was, of course offered to help him. Pansy didn't doubt that he was probably not feeling well and probably _was_ quite dizzy, but she knew that Draco wouldn't ask for help if his life depended on it. He would rather crawl his way to the infirmary that ask for someone's help- unless 'help' entailed feeling up an unsuspecting chick.

Or in this case, annoying Hermione.

_Probably a combination of both_, Pansy thought.

"I have to go." Hermione said as Pompfrey tended to Draco. "Ron and Harry are probably worried…" She turned to leave, but the strong, guiding arm of Madame Pompfrey lead her to the bed next to Draco's.

"You're not going anywhere until I have a look at you, Dear." Pompfrey said as she instructed Hermione to lie down.

"What? But I'm fine! I'm just going up to Gryffindor-" Hermione tried to stand, but Pompfrey forced her to lie down once again.

Madame Pompfrey clucked impatiently. "Not with a bump like that on your head. You're not going anywhere until I have a look at you."

"What?" Hermione reached up to her forehead where she felt, as the nurse had said, a sizeable welt. "How-?"

"Ah." Draco said in calm revelation. "I guess that would explain this." He pulled down the collar of his robes to reveal a growing bruise on his collarbone. "I guess I don't make the best of landing pads."

Madame Pompfrey raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

Pansy responded before Hermione had the chance. "Hermione found him by tripping over him, because it was dark. That's how she hit her head as well."

The nurse looked at them doubtfully, but gave up. It wasn't her place to figure out how the students had gotten injured. She was just supposed to help them get better. "Very well. So he was unconscious when you found him?"

"No. Just to dizzy to stand up on his own." Pansy lied flawlessly.

"Yes, but I still have to go-" Madame Pompfrey forced Hermione back onto the bed in a vain attempt to end her rant. "But Ron and Harry-"

"I'll go."

"What?" Draco and Hermione said in unison as they gawked at Pansy.

"I'll go and tell them." Pansy said with a shrug. "Gryffindor isn't that far from here right? I'm sure I can find my way."

"That sounds reasonable, Dear. Now lie down." The nurse said as she continued to struggle with Hermione. "I can give you instructions and a note for the fat lady so you wont need to learn the password. I'm sure miss Granger can have no objection to that."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Pansy beat her to it.

"Sounds perfect!" Pansy said as she followed the nurse to another room to get the instructions and note, and then left for Gryffindor before Hermione could get a word in edgewise.

Hermione finally sat down on the bed and scowled. Draco looked at her with amusement evident in his smirk.

"What are you looking at?" She groaned.

"You're such a tool." Draco sneered. "You know why she wants to go up to Gryffindor so much, right?'

"I have a lurking suspicion." She sighed. "But whatever the reason is, I'm dead."

Draco snorted with laughter. "Yeah, I bet your little Gryffindor friends won't be too happy with the intrusion."

Hermione picked up an extra pillow from her bed and threw it at him. "This _is_ your fault, you know."

Madame Pompfrey had entered just in time to see Hermione chuck the pillow, and consequently berated her for being a 'poor patient' and 'making her job difficult' before tending to both of their injuries and giving them a light calming draught. With one last scolding word towards Hermione, the nurse returned to her personal quarters to get some much-needed rest. She really needed her own staff with the amount of students that got injured at this school.

"Now, where were we?" Hermione said in a low voice once Madame Pompfrey was out of earshot.

Draco turned to face Hermione eagerly, recalling his words from earlier. "Yes?" He responded with a coyly raised eyebrow.

Hermione smirked and lobbed another pillow in his direction.

"Damn, woman! I thought she gave you a calming draught!" Draco cried as he pried the pillow off of his face.

"Yes, she did." Hermione said lazily. "Which is why I have to do this now." With her remaining energy Hermione rolled off her bed and grabbed her pillow back from Draco proceeded to smack him with it.

"That-" smack, "is for-" smack, "fucking-" smack, "up-" smack, "everything!" With one last 'smack' Hermione collapsed on the edge of his bed, breathing deeply.

"Merlin, woman! What kind on manners were you taught? Beating up a cripple…" He looked over at Hermione, who looked like she was about to fall asleep. "Damn it! Come on…" He reached a hand out to Hermione.

"Whaat?" She said sleepily.

"That potion's kicking in to quickly. You're not going to make it back to your own bed, so-" Draco grabbed Hermione as she fell asleep and started to slip to the ground. "Wake up!" He moaned as he heaved her unconscious body onto the bed.

Hermione opened up a bleary eye and looked at Draco.

"Fuck you, Malfoy." She groaned.

"I'm too tired, Granger. Maybe later."

With the last of her energy, Hermione gave Draco one last blow to the face with the pillow, and then proceeded to pass out.


	21. Chapter 21

"I think she killed him."

"What?"

"Last night- I couldn't really see or anything, but it sounded like she was attacking him."

"Wait- where is she?" Ron stammered in confusion.

Dean pointed with a heavily bandaged hand to the opposite quarter of the infirmary where a white divider blocked the beds from view.

"Thanks" Harry said hastily as he patted Dean on his injured arm, causing him to wince and blink back tears. The group of teenagers crossed the ward promptly, Harry and Ron in the front, followed by a lagging Neville and Pansy. The last, who seemed to be enjoying the whole scene immensely, kept her distance but was always close enough to bear witness to the drama.

Harry quickly drew back the white blinds and the motley crew froze at what lay in front of them.

"Holy shit! She really did kill him!" Ron said ecstatically.

"No- no it looks like he's still breathing." Harry said as he leaned forward for a closer inspection. "She isn't holding the pillow down hard enough, look- he can still breathe." Harry pointed to the open air underneath the pillow. "See? His abnormally large, ferret shaped nose keeps him from suffocating."

The group cautiously inspected the sleeping duo, both of whom were very much still alive. Hermione lay parallel to Draco, her hands still clutching at the pillow that covered Draco's face. One of Draco's hands covered one of Hermione's that was holding the pillow; the other was at her waist.

"She must have fallen asleep before she could finish the job." Ron deduced with an understanding nod. "Well, we can just help here out then." He reached out to the fluffy white pillow covering Draco's head and started to press down on it.

"Ron!" Neville shouted as he pulled Ron back. "You can't kill him!"

"Besides," Pansy added demurely, "it looks like they're hugging, not fighting."

"NO!" Ron countered, "Look- she's smothering him! And he's trying to push her away! They hate each other! They're even trying to kill each other in their sleep!"

"I hate to say it Ron, but I agree with Pansy." Harry said as if was the most horrible scenario imaginable. "It does look like Draco's holding onto her, not pushing her away."

"WHAT? Harry, no-" Ron interjected.

"But-" Harry added before Ron could continue, "it _does_ look like Hermione is trying to injure Draco, if not kill him."

"_Hmm mmmy ammm mm uu, Aaammm._" A muffled voice said from underneath the pillow.

"What?" Ron said ignorantly, though no one else in the group had understood either.

"I said," Draco droned as he lifted the pillow with one hand, " 'How very astute of you, Harry'."

"How so?"

"This _thing_ here is indeed attempting to cause me bodily injury, and I am, for some strange, chivalrous, and incomprehensible reason, holding onto it."

Ron lunged forward, but Neville continued to restrain him.

"And what would that reason be?" Harry said angrily.

"To keep it from falling off this bed and killing itself. For I'm sure that I would somehow be blamed for its rash and violent actions."

"She's not an it!" Ron said angrily as Neville continued to restrain him.

"Really? I couldn't tell." Draco mused malevolently as he consciously flicked a stray curl off of the arm that was closest to 'it'.

Hermione suddenly groaned and shifted closer to Draco, one of the arms that had been grasping the pillow now clung to Draco protectively. Harry and Ron turned livid, while Neville continued to focus on restraining Ron. Draco smirked at this, and Pansy looked darkly amused.

Hermione groaned again. "_Snuffelkins…_"

The room was ominously silent. Not even those obnoxious crickets that decide to chirp at the most awkward moments dared make a noise.

Ron had turned to pale that the only way you could distinguish him from the white wall behind him was his freckles and flaming hair. Even Pansy looked shocked.

"_Snuffelkins?_" Ron moaned under his breath, slightly psychotically.

"Dear Merlin, you people have no sense of humor." Hermione said airily as she sat up and jumped off the bed, giving Draco a push in the process that sent him swaying eerily close to another head injury.

"Sweet Merlin's beard, Hermione! What the hell was that about?" Ron gasped, clutching at his chest in surprise. "You nearly killed me there. Snuffelkins? What the hell!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed exasperatedly, giving the bed Draco was on another subtle and quite 'accidental' kick. She hoped that he would, indeed, fall to his doom, and consequently, solve all of those problems that seemed to amass around him. Hermione was not so fortunate, however. Draco had repositioned himself to the center of the gurney, having foreseen at Hermione's malicious intent.

"Well, Ron, you'll be happy to know _you_ weren't the person I was trying to off."

"_I told you she was trying to kill him_." Ron whispered perversely into Harry's ear.

Harry rolled his eyes. "So what exactly happened here last night, Hermione?"

Now it was Hermione's turn to look peeved. "What do you mean?"

Harry raised an eyebrow as if to say, "You have _got_ to be kidding me".

"Fine. I got pissed at the ferret here, but fell asleep from Madame Pompfrey's potion before I could get back to my bed after the 'attempted murder' or whatever. Did I miss anything, Ferret?"

"No, I believe that was a very thorough explanation, _Sugartoes_." Draco sneered.

Ron choked on air and Harry winced.

"That's disgusting, Ferret." Ron growled at the white-haired boy.

"What, _Sugartoes_? Why, do prefer that I call her mudbl-"

"That's quite enough, _Snuffelkins_." Hermione cut in coldly. "Since we shared our little adventure last night, would you care to give us a little recap what your night was like, for _Snuffelkins_' and my benefit?"

"Thank you, _Sugartoes_." Draco added smugly. Hermione kicked the bed sharply once again, sending Draco lurching ominously.

"No one was taking to you."

"Of course not, you were only talking _for_ me, apparently."

"Just shut up, Snuffelkins."

"Could you two _please_ cut the creepy pet names? They're making the rest of us ill." Harry sighed, disgruntled.

"Only if you tell us the charming story of how all of you became so chummy." Hermione said with a false brightness and a creepily large smile that she directed mainly towards Pansy who was trying to hide in the background by this point. She was failing horribly, as she had very dark hair that stood out somewhat against the pure white of the hospital ward.

"I agree with Sugartoes here. Do tell." Draco sat up and leaned towards the group with apparent dire interest in what was about to be said. He even put his arm around Hermione's shoulder, but it was quickly and forcefully knocked off by Sugartoes herself.

"How did you go from calling her 'it' to calling her 'Sugartoes'?" Ron said, his mind straying from the conversation.

"Sugartoes isn't a gender specific name." Draco shrugged, also straying from the conversation.

Hermione cleared her throat wearily. "Come on, people. It's early, and I have a concussion. Let's just get to the point here."

"_Someone's not a morning person._" Draco noted out loud, much to Hermione's annoyance.

"I _know_." Ron responded intensely. "You should see her after a all-night study session. Say one thing about her cat or her weight or anything, and she'll bite your head off. Or hex you."

"Really? Then I guess I shouldn't mention to her that her cat looks like it got hit by a car and that hospital robe makes her look fat." Draco baited.

"Would you two girls stop gossiping?" Hermione scowled at the pair.

"Shhh, we're having girl talk time. Something you wouldn't understand." Draco said in a high, girly voice, as he dismissed her with a dramatic hand wave.

Ron laughed as Draco smirked at the ever-reddening Hermione.

"Ron!" Harry said angrily.

"Huh?" Ron looked over at Draco and suddenly remembered that they hated each other. "Oh, right." He gave Draco a death stare and moved closer to Harry, as if Draco had a brain-washing power that only worked if you got too close to him. A theory Hermione was actually considering.

"Can we get back to the point?" Hermione said wearily. "Who here is going to explain for me what happened after Pansy left the infirmary last night?"

"It's quite simple, really." Pansy finally broke in. "I deviously schemed my way into the dormitory by bewitching that portrait of the hideously obese woman. Once I finally managed to break in, I had to hex every Gryffindor in the room, violently and without remorse. The task was easy enough, all in all. The hard part was hiding all the bodies…"

"You forgot the part where you killed the escaped troll." Ron added sarcastically.

"Oh yes, and that too. It smelled awful. Couldn't believe nobody noticed it among all the Gryffindors, but what can I say. You're not the best looking lot. Or the brightest." Pansy said nonchalantly. "It fit right in."

"Right." Hermione said disbelievingly. "So what really happened?"

"It was quite well done, really." Neville said respectfully. "She managed to transfigure her appearance and her clothes. No one noticed her. Harry and Ron didn't even recognize her. When I noticed her, Seamus was hitting on her."

"I think the fake tan had a lot to do with that." Pansy said absentmindedly. "And the blonde hair."

Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"When she finally managed to get the message to us about what happened, we went to go see you, but Filch was standing right outside the portrait hole. I think he has a thing for the fat lady 'cause he was there for ages. And once he finally left, we figured it was too late to see you anyways." Harry explained.

"I liked Pansy's story better." Draco muttered childishly.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, bloody grow up, will you?"

"What is going on here?" Madame Pompfrey questioned harshly as she entered the ward. "I didn't allow any visitors in!" She glared harshly at the intruders who were 'disturbing the peace'. "I know you care for your friends, but –"

"Friend. Not friend_s_." Harry corrected.

"Harsh, Pot head. _Harsh_." Draco sneered.

"In any case, these patients need rest-"

"They just slept the whole night!" Ron interjected.

"They need to heal-"

"I feel perfectly fine." Draco said cheerily.

"They need-"

"I don't even know why I'm here." Hermione complained.

"Fine!" Pompfrey sighed woefully, and conceded. "I will give you one last checkup, and if I see that you are healed, you may leave."

"That's great!" Neville explained.

"Yes, well, now, OUT. These patients need their privacy." The nurse said adamantly as she shooed away the non-'injured' students.

"Oh, good, Granger. They're gone. Now we can get back to our _lusty_ snogging session." Draco said loudly and dramatically.

"WHAT?!" Ron yelled as he started back towards the wounded duo, causing Pompfrey to forcefully remove him, with a surprising amount of curses muttered under her breath, and Draco to laugh viciously.

After removing the spare students, the nurse, still fuming, hustled Hermione and Draco back to their respective beds, warning them that she would return in a few minutes to check them out.

Draco could have sworn her heard her mutter something about students "violating the sanctity of the hospital ward" as she shut the door to her private office. Though he wasn't sure if she was referring to Potter and his lot, or Hermione and his' sharing a bed for the night.

"Hey, Granger." Draco said seductively.

"What?" She deadpanned in reply.

"Want to violate the sanctity of the hospital ward with me?" He said wagging his eyebrows.

"And how exactly would we go about doing that?" Hermione asked cautiously, shifting to the furthest edge of her bed, not trusting his devious grin.

"Just follow my lead."

…

"Well, Mr. Thomas, you're free to leave. It'll be sensitive for some time, but the skin has re-grown. Be careful, though. The new skin is liable to fall off it is put under too much strain."

Dean looked horrified at the nurse's words and quickly fled the infirmary, carefully protecting his arm by holding it out in front of him.

Pompfrey sighed resignedly as the panic-stricken student exited the area. It never ceased to surprise her how young people seemed to fear getting medical treatment, despite the fact that they had no problem finding ways to injure themselves.

The nurse finally roused herself from her reverie and decided she might as well see to her two remaining patients, for that was her job after all- even though the pay was terrible and the students were, as a whole, ungrateful and uncooperative.

She reached the back of the ward and drew back the colorless curtain that portioned the section off. "Now, I just need to check a few things-" She stopped mid-sentence as she stared dumbfounded at Draco.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"What do you mean?" Draco said defensively.

"Why do you have that chamber pot on your head?"

Draco raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I don't have anything on my head," he turned to Hermione, "do I?"

She faced him disinterestedly. "No. Madame Pompfrey, I think you're mistaken. That's just his face."

"Hey!"

"No- there's a chamber pot on his head! Like a hat! Why…" she blinked several times, "It's gone?"

Draco gave her a worried look.

"Are you alright?" Hermione questioned gently.

"No- yes- I'm fine, it's just-" she looked between the two of them worriedly. The two students stared back, dumbfounded.

"Madame Pompfrey?" Hermione asked nervously.

"What?" The nurse looked at her and jumped in shock. "How? When did you put it on your head, Miss Granger? What is going on?"

"Excuse me," Hermione said sweetly, "but there isn't anything on my head."

"Yeah," Draco added sarcastically, "that's just her hair. It always looks like that."

"It's gone!" The old witch exclaimed nervously. "The chamber pot…"

"_I think the old bat's gone loony_." Draco whispered audibly to Hermione, who rolled her eyes.

"Madame Pompfrey," Hermione said as she stood up carefully, "Maybe you should lie down, I think you're seeing things. Are you feeling well?"

"Oh, maybe you're right." The nurse said as she sat down on the bed previously occupied by Hermione. "Perhaps I did have too much wine last night…" She mumbled to herself as she started to drift to sleep.

"May we leave now?" Hermione whispered quietly, as not to disturb or startle the woman.

"Yes, yes, of course…"

…

"I think that was the most immature thing I've ever done."

"Yes, well, now that the Dark Lord is dead and all, you and you're 'golden trio' friends are going to have to find less chivalrous ways to spend your free time."

"Yes, well I guess that putting a chamber pot on my head and making an old woman believe she's going insane definitely falls under the category of 'less chivalrous'."

Draco smirked. "I never thought I would see Granger in such a compromising and humiliating position. I must say, however, I enjoyed it thoroughly."

"Dear Merlin, you need a life." Hermione scolded lightly. "Preferably one that doesn't revolve around other people's –namely my- humiliation." She smiled at him amiably. "Though I will admit, it was rather amusing."

"That's the spirit." Draco said as he draped an arm around her shoulder casually.

An easy silence fell over them as they continued to walk down the cold corridors of Hogwarts on their way to breakfast. Hermione was the first to break it.

"This is unexpected."

"What?"

"We're not fighting."

"For about thirty seconds there, yes."

"You're touching me and I'm not killing you."

"Your powers of observations have once again not failed you. Your point?"

"I just never thought I'd see the day."

"I know you're muggle born and everything, but seeing as you're know for being an 'insufferable know-it-all' I thought you would have figured out by now that this is Hogwarts. Anything can happen."

Hermione stared at him openmouthed, in shock.

"Whaaat?" He whined as he pouted slightly.

"Did you _seriously_ just say that? That is like the most cliché line I have ever heard."

"I think it's the head trauma. Don't get the idea that I actually like you or anything."

"Of course not." Hermione said a smile.


	22. Chapter 22

"You _seriously_ don't want to change clothes? You haven't changed since yesterday!"

"We don't have the time, Malfoy! Class starts in ten minutes!"

Draco gave Hermione a disgusted look as took another bite into a piece of toast, carefully scooting away from her as if she harbored some deadly, highly contagious, disease. _Like, the plague, or something_, He thought.

Well, for all he knew, she could have the plague. Probably. He wouldn't be surprised.

"Have you ever heard of hygiene?" He said, as he looked her over cautiously, wrinkling his nose slightly.

"Just because I'm not a germ phobic, Prima-Donna like yourself, I have the plague? Merlin, Malfoy, I used a cleaning spell. Besides, these are the only clothes I have."

Draco stared at her with a frightened look in his eyes, his toast forgotten, hovering in his hands. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Do _what_?"

"I never said I you had the plague."

"Yes you did."

"NO, I didn't."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"NO," Draco said with finality, " I _thought_ it. How the hell did you read my mind, Granger? Who taught you that?"

"I didn't read your bloody mind, Malfoy. Learn the difference between thinking and speaking, for Merlin's sake."

Draco froze in the middle of the corridor, curious younger students watching the odd duo with a mixture of fear and awe, giving them plenty of space.

"What now?" Hermione said with obvious annoyance.

"Crap." Draco whispered to himself, in sudden, horrible, realization.

Hermione raised an eyebrow curiously.

Draco's eyes darted back and forth between her and the floor nervously. "Err, nothing. Forget the whole thing." He said quickly as he started to walk unnaturally quickly and slightly awkwardly.

Hermione paused a moment, then ran to catch up with him. "Draco," she whined to him, "wait for me!"

He stopped and turned towards her, waiting. "Don't ever say that again," He said with a shaky voice, "you sounded just like Pansy in our third year when she obsessively stalked me."

"Aww, don't say that. She's not that bad." Hermione said chastisingly as she caught up with him and they headed to class together.

…

Draco froze for a moment as he entered the classroom. Sure, usually everyone looked at him as he entered a room, but… not usually quite like this. Usually there wasn't so much… he didn't know how to describe it… shock? Surprise? Pure unadulterated disbelief?

That was when he remembered. Right. It wasn't everyday entered class talking to Hermione as if they had been life-long friends. Hell, it probably shocked people to see the two within arms reach without trying to kill each other. When he thought about it, he was shocked too, to say the least.

"See you later, Sugartoes." He said with a wink as he joined the Slytherin half of the room.

Merlin, the awkward silence that filled the room was delicious. _Damn, I love messing with people_, he thought with a smirk.

…

_Oh, shit. Bad idea._ Hermione thought to herself as she encountered the stunned stares of the entire class. _Really- bad idea_.

"See you later, Sugartoes." Draco said with a wink as he ditched her to go sit with his Slytherin goons.

_Damn, I hate you right now_, Hermione thought viciously, wishing he could read her mind and understand how much bad karma she was trying to send him at the moment.

She grimaced and took her seat next to a very upset and confused looking Ron and Harry.

…

"_Draco,_" Pansy whispered to Draco urgently, "_An owl came from you're mother during breakfast_." She handed him the elegantly displayed message carefully, as if she feared it might explode. Which probably wasn't too far from the truth.

Draco's eye twitched involuntarily as he slowly took the parchment from the dark-haired girl. He read it quickly, but carefully, with each word his face losing more of what little color it originally had. When he finished, he tucked the message into his bag and stared at Hermione. After several minutes, she finally couldn't stand it any longer and met his gaze, surprised by the deathly hallow stare that met hers. He subtly jerked his head towards the door, indicating that he needed to talk to her.

Hermione scowled at him and turned he attention back to the teacher, resolute in her resolve to ignore him completely.

Draco, however, had other plans. He continued to stare her down until it made her too uncomfortable, and she finally raised her hand.

The professor, not at all unaccustomed to this behavior coming from Hermione rolled his eyes before turning from the blackboard to face the student.

"Yes, Miss Granger."

"May I be excused?"

Draco grimaced. _Merlin, this girl doesn't know how to skip out of class_.

"What?" The teacher said, surprised at this unique behavior. "Why, yes. Of course."

Hermione quietly stood up and collected her things, doing her best not to disrupt the class any further.

Draco stared as Hermione blatantly walked out of the class, with the teachers blessing, nonetheless. She was smart; he'd give her that. She had actually gotten the teacher's _permission_ to skip class. That was smooth.

Draco, however, had a slightly different method for ditching, seeing as teachers didn't trust him blindly, as they did Hermione. His method was one that required much more skill, if you asked him. Yes, Draco was the master at this unique skill.

He launched a few Weaseley Brand firecrackers at the other side of the classroom and quickly ran for the door during the commotion.

He never would admit to using Weaseley products, but hell- no one would ever suspect him of using them. It was foolproof.

A smirk spread across his face as he safely shut the classroom door, dampening the sounds of the student's screams coming from within.

Hermione raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "What did you just…" Hermione sighed. "Never mind. I don't even want to know. Just- why did you drag me out here?"

Draco leaned against a nearby wall, eyes downcast, and expression solemn. "I had hoped this would never happen, but I never suspected it to happen so soon, in any case."

Hermione looked at him frightened and expectant. "What? What happened?'

Draco fiddled with the parchment he had just received anxiously. "Well, you see…" He met Hermione's intense gaze, "my mother wants to meet you."

"What." Hermione said flatly. It wasn't a question. "No."

Draco looked her up and down, taking in the details. "Now, we're going to have to do some work before we meet her for dinner tonight."

"I said, NO."

"I can get Pansy to lend you a dress." Draco thought out loud. "Though you might want to transfigure it a bit, otherwise you'll look like a bint, not that I mind, really."

"Hell, no." Hermione said, frustrated that he wasn't listening.

"She can probably help you with makeup too, since I doubt you even know what that is…"

"Malfoy!"

"And hair too, she knows some amazing spells for hair. I'll have to double check it though, she doesn't always have the best fashion sense, I mean- look at her hair, it's a freaking bowl cut."

"Draco!"

He looked up at the use of his first name.

"I can't do this." Hermione said seriously.

"Hermione," Draco said sympathetically, as he slowly leaned in closer to her, carefully raising a hand to caress her cheek, "you don't have a choice."

"Twat."

"Yes, yes. That's the spirit. Not let's go." He said with a cheerful finality as he quickly dragged her away.

…

"You do realize I'm missing class?"

Pansy curled one of Hermione's frizzy brown locks contemplatively.

"For something as idiotic, vain, and unproductive this?" Hermione groaned.

"Quiet, or I'll have to put a silencing charm on you as well." Draco droned from the background.

Hermione glared at him in the mirror, unable to turn and face him. This was due mainly to the fact that he had placed a binding curse on her only moments before, rendering her unable to escape or struggle, in an attempt to make her 'makeover' to a bit smoother.

"For heaven's sake, Granger, the professor even gave you permission to skip. Relax for one bleeding moment in your life." He complained, for Malfoys never begged or pleaded. Even if it sounded like they did.

Hermione grumbled to herself mutinously, but made no audible complaints and resigned herself to sitting in the chair as the other girl fussed over her hair.

Not that she had much choice, in reality.

As Hermione was forced to sit there and watch as Pansy viciously attacked the brown stuff attached to her head, which Draco argued vehemently couldn't _possibly_ be hair, she marveled at the absurdity of the entire situation.

For the love of Merlin's fluffy pink socks, she was under the complete control of two Slytherins who previously would have hexed her to oblivion without second thought and her biggest worry was if Pansy would make her hair look even worse.

What the hell had happened?

"Draco, leave."

Draco looked up suddenly at Pansy's sudden order. He _had_ been taking a very nice nap, thank you very much. He raised an eyebrow in a questioningly, and albeit, sexy manner.

"Why?" He complained once again.

"_Because_," She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "you're making Hermione uncomfortable. Look at her face."

"I'm not making a face." Hermione said defensively.

"Of course not." Pansy said condescendingly. "But either way, out. You don't get to see her until I make her look pretty."

"Is that an insult?" Hermione said irritably. There was something about someone treating you like a child that made you act that way even more so.

"I guess they don't call you the 'brightest witch of our age' for nothing, then." Pansy said dryly as she flicked a stray piece of hair out of her face. "And Draco, you still haven't left."

Draco cursed under his breath. He had hoped Pansy had forgotten with Hermione's interruption. _No such luck, at least not with this banshee._

"I heard that." Pansy said as her eyes became narrow slits, directed coldly and fixedly at Draco.

"I liked you better when you were in love with me." He pouted as he left. "But Ii guess you have _Longbottom_ for that now."

"I'm sure I have no idea what in the name of Hogwarts you are referring to." Pansy flushed, but true to Slytherin tradition, showed no other reaction to Draco's comment.

"Now," Pansy said after a few moments of recovery after Draco's had departed from the room, "lets see what in the world I can do with all of this… hair you call it?"

…

"Malfoy! Quit looking at yourself in the mirror and get down here!" Pansy screeched from the bottom of the stairs into the boy's dormitory. Apparently in Slytherin house, they didn't trust the girl's either, for Pansy couldn't enter the staircase without the stairs ominously disappearing, a lesson she learned a number of years ago.

Draco straightened his already immaculate hair and with a confident smirk, he left his reflection to see if Pansy had managed to tame the wild beast that was Hermione's hair.

Alongside Pansy, he sauntered with false confidence into the small room that served as his private entrance into Slytherin, he wouldn't even admit it to himself, but he was anxious to see what Hermione looked like- when dressed in a way befitting a proper woman, unlike her usual drab appearance.

As Hermione slowly came into Draco's view, his breath caught in his throat-- which then promptly turned into Draco laughing his pale ass off.

You know, that roll on the floor, unable to breathe, piss your pants kind of laughter. Though being a Malfoy, Draco would never piss his pants. Yet in this situation for anyone else, it probably would have been acceptable, if not expected.

Hermione was splayed upon the floor, having tripped over her over-long dress when Draco's laughter startled her, with a variety of clips and hairpins scattered around her. Portions of her hair were literally standing on end, valiantly defying gravity in an oh-so Gryffindor lion-like manner.

Pansy's reaction to this sight, however, was far different from Draco's. She shrieked in horror as she ran to Hermione desperately grasping for the pins that were scattered across the floor.

"What did you DO? I spent _hours_ working on your hair and it looks even worse than when I started! And how _dare_ you alter that dress I lent you!" Pansy gasped. "What did you do to your _makeup_?! Merlin, there's hardly any left!"

Hermione sulkily blew the wild curls away from her face as she tugged at a pin that was trapped hopelessly in a rouge snarl. "Yes, well in the two minutes you were gone, this was as much as I could get rid of while simultaneously lengthening my dress and undoing that ridiculous sculpture you made out of my hair."

Pansy shrieked once again in frustration as she pulled at her own hair.

"You know what, Draco? Deal with her yourself. I give up." Pansy said venomously as she made her dramatic exit.

"Pansy, wait!" Hermione shouted desperately.

Pansy froze and inch from the exit, a smirk tugging at her lips, unseen to the other occupants of the room.

"You… you have to undo that- _that_ charm, I can't get rid of it."

Pansy's smirk grew to devilish proportions. "Ohhh, no. That charm will be in place until tomorrow morning, guaranteed. It's a specialty of mine. Even you can't break it, Hermione." She turned and gave the pale-faced Hermione a devious wink and left with malicious cackle.

"She really has that whole 'evil villain' routine down, doesn't she?" Hermione asked rhetorically. "Oh, goddamit, Draco, stop laughing! It's not that funny!"

Draco gasped desperately for breath. "That's-that's because you don't have a-a-a mirror!" He cried hysterically as he fell into another fit.

Hermione glared at him, but summoned a full-length mirror anyways. She grimaced and attempted to flatten her hair the best she could with her hands.

"Merlin- I look like I belong in an eighties hair metal band." Hermione joked as she played air guitar and pretended to headbang.

"A what?" Draco said as he gasped for breath, his laughter finally dying off, confused by Hermione's seizure like spasms. "Are you all right?"

Hermione froze, her wild hair appeared to Draco as if it was attempting to eat her face. He freaked out as Hermione tried to blow it out of her facing, thinking that it had, in fact, come alive.

"Yeah, I'm fine- it's just a muggle thing I guess." Hermione said with a sigh as she formulated a plan of attack to fix her appearance.

"Sooo…" Draco said in a feigned casualness, "what was that charm you were talking to Pansy about? The charm-that-can't-be-named?"

Hermione immediately turned a bright pink and dismissed it with muttering about how it was "Nothing! Nothing!", though Draco could have sworn her heard her say mutter to herself, "_I guess it is more comfortable than wearing a bra…_".

Draco smirked. He knew Pansy well enough to figure the rest out. She was fairly well known for her expertise in modifying 'support' charms. Draco glanced over at Hermione and noticed to his dismay (though he would never admit it) that she had arranged her long hair to disguise the majority of Pansy's excellent spell work.

Hermione, still flustered and muttering to herself and adjusting her hair, went back to the mirror in a vain attempt to fix her appearance. She shortened the bottom of her dress slightly so she wouldn't trip of it again (her original spell to lengthen it had gone too long), and tried to remove the rest of the makeup Pansy had plastered her face with. But before she could mutter a single spell to fix her hair, Draco grabbed her wand out of her hand.

Hermione gave him an inquisitive look. "What, pray tell, was that for?"

Draco stepped in closer to her, bushing a few stray curls from her face. "Don't change it."

Hermione stared up at him with a complete loss of words. That didn't happen often, to say the least. Yet it seemed to happen more and more often around Draco.

"I thought I told you?" He said with his trademark smirk, "I like your hair, crazy and insane as it is."

"You're just hoping a bird will land in it and nest, aren't you?"

"Yes, well, that would be hilarious, but not my intention by any means." Draco said coyly as he brought her in for a kiss.

Hermione broke away and stared up at him with a surprised smile. "I can't believe you just said that."

"Said what?" He said as he tried to get another kiss from her.

Hermione smirked as she imitated Draco's drawl, "Oh, Hermione, your hair is so soft and inviting…"

"I so did not say that."

"Oh, yes you did."

"No I didn't."

"Well you were sure as hell thinking it."


	23. Chapter 23

"Seriously? _Albino peacocks_?"

"Obviously."

"Conspicuous consumption, much?"

"My family? _Never!_" Draco drawled sarcastically, giving Hermione a slight smirk.

"Well, they certainly make a statement." She conceded.

"And what would that be?"

"That your mother misses you while you're away at school and deals with it by buying a flock of gaudy animal replacements."

"What? I thought I was a ferret." He teased.

"Well, as far as appearances go-" Draco scoffed "- but metaphorically and symbolically, you're much more of a peacock. They're much more flamboyant. And the fact that they're albino just cinches it." Hermione finished with her trademark know-it-all air.

"Rubbish. My mother did not buy a flock of albino peacocks to replace me."

"When did she get them?"

"Sometime during my first year, I believe."

Hermione snorted back laughter. "Oh, Merlin, that completely confirms my hypothesis as to why she got them in the first place."

"What do you mean, _reason_? She's insanely rich and likes to show it, what exactly is the mystery here? Don't you think you're putting to much thought into this?"

"Draco," Hermione chided, "she bought them your _first year_. When you _first left_. Think about it."

Draco froze momentarily before realizing what she was getting at. "Oh. _Crappp_. Seriously? Albino peacocks?"

"My sentiments exactly."

"And what sentiments would those be?" A sweetly cold voice said from behind them.

Hermione spun around quickly to face the owner of the voice, but upon seeing her tried to erase all signs of having been startled.

"Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione said in a polite voice she usually reserved for teachers, "I was commenting on how much I adore your albino peacocks." She smiled with a false sincerity.

Draco raised an eyebrow slightly at the possible implications of that phrase.

"What, Granger, does this mean you _adore_ me? Seeing as I am the peacock according to your 'hypothesis'? Don't tell me you're going to go out an get a flock of your own now, because-."

Hermione silenced his whispered commentary with a quick elbow to the stomach as she shushed him though her toothy grin she was directing at the elder Malfoy.

Narcissa noted this interaction carefully, and responded in the oh-so-Malfoy fashion of raising an eyebrow before courteously inviting them in.

"You must be miss Granger." She said with a scrutinizing eye, gauging Hermione's reactions.

"Of course. Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione said, refusing to be intimidated by the older woman's stare.

"It's always such a pleasure to have Draco's _schoolmates_ visit."

"I can only imagine." Hermione replied sarcastically, imagining having Crabbe or Goyle visiting being anything but a pleasure. Draco caught the undertones of sarcasm and judging by the momentary twitch at the corner of his mother's mouth, Draco assumed she didn't miss it either. Not that she ever missed much.

The small party took off at a quick pace without much ado, on the long and arduous journey of crossing the mansion to get to the dining hall. Yes, they had an entire hall to eat in. This _was_ the Malfoy house, after all. And the walk to even get to it was a formidable one.

Draco followed a short distance behind the two women, not wanting to get caught in the tension, but unable to leave Hermione alone with his mother, and run screaming from the awkward situation as he wished.

"Wa-was that the, um, the library?" Hermione stammered breathlessly as she slowed her pace, staring back at the large double doors the small group had just passed.

Draco mentally slapped himself on the forehead. Leave it to Hermione to act like a lovesick fool the moment she catches sight of a book.

Narcissa's eyebrows rose several millimeters in surprise. The doors to the library had only been open a crack, and they had been walking at a brisk pace. Draco's hypothesis was that Hermione had developed the ability to smell large quantities of books, so that she could detect libraries without actually seeing them. A helpful skill for know-it-alls.

"Yes, of course." Narcissa replied in her usual cool tones, hiding her surprise. "It has numerous books that you couldn't even find in Hogwart's library."

"Really?" Hermione responded, sounding more like her usual self and less like her know-it-all persona that came out when she talked to teachers or about something she read in a book.

"Yes, I've been working on adding to the Malfoy collection ever since I first married. The library has always been grand, but I felt like it was lacking in… diversity." Narcissa paused momentarily, but continued. "It has nearly doubled since I first arrived here."

"I've always thought a variety in subject matter is what makes some collections better than others. That is one of the downfalls of the Hogwarts library, a lot of the selection is limited to subjects that are covered in classes."

"Oh, yes, I felt that way as well when I went there…"

Draco stared in wonder as his mother chatted amiably with Hermione, as if they had been long acquainted and were comfortable enough with each other to debate such things as book collections and the standards of Hogwarts' library, all the earlier iciness and tension forgotten.

Draco didn't even know his mother read books. He chalked this up to just another thing he learned from Hermione.

"Oh, yes. Here we are- the dining hall." Narcissa opened the large doors with a grand sweeping motion to reveal a banquet hall large enough to house and feed a small army.

Hermione's jaw hit the floor. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Because even in the wizarding world, that probably wouldn't be a good thing.

"Holy shit." She muttered a bit more audibly than she meant to.

"Yes, we get that a lot." Narcissa nodded knowingly, not at all upset by Hermione's profanity.

…

Hermione blushed as she set down her silverware nervously. "Excuse me for my language, I didn't mean to be so blunt, but-"

"There isn't really a better way to put it is there? He does have a bit of a sick up his ass at times._ I think it's a Malfoy thing_." The last part she whispered conspiratorially across the overlarge table.

"Would you two quit speaking about me as if I'm not here?" Draco bemoaned childishly.

Hermione smirked at him, though his mother acted as if she had not heard him at all, and continued with her theories on the Malfoy bloodline.

"Honestly, it's as if they're bred that way. But us women learn to loosen them up a bit, eh?" Narcissa said with a wink. "I'm sure you know all about that."

"Mother." Draco interrupted in a futile attempt to silence his mother's embarrassing rant.

"Oh, Draco. Despite what you may think, I was young once too, and I know what goes on in Hogwarts. When your father was your age I could barely keep my hands off of him-"

"Mother!" Draco tried fruitlessly, once again.

Hermione choked back a laugh by gagging slightly on her salad.

"And I'm sure that you and miss Granger know exactly what that's like. I can sense the …_tension_ between you two-"

"Mother!"

"I'm if I wasn't here right now you two would be-"

"Mother! Please!"

"-the couches around here are large enough, I made sure-"

"I don't need to hear this!"

"Not that I'm complaining, really. I'm quite looking forward to grandchildren, and in all honesty, the sooner the better. You two make such a wonderful couple."

The two teenagers stared speechlessly as the older woman took a polite sip of her drink, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just been said.

…

Hermione and Draco ambled down the silent corridors of Hogwarts on their way back to the Slytherin commons in a heavy and awkward silence.

Hermione cleared her throat in an attempt to break the silence. "So…"

"Umm…"

"Yeah."

The two looked in opposite directions.

"So your mom wants us to do it."

"Yeaah."

"Like rabbits."

"Something along those lines."

Hermione stared at the ceiling as Draco focused intently on the floor.

"Well my fear of her cursing me into oblivion has somewhat receded."

"She was oddly fond of you, I must say." Draco mused darkly, as if some evil plot was afoot.

"She's nice." Hermione stated simply. "Though I must admit, I am now frightened of her for entirely different reasons."

"I, for one, am thoroughly traumatized." Draco agreed.

Hermione stopped mid-step as a though came to her.

"Draco…" She said in a stern voice. Draco knew that tone of voice. He flinched.

"Draco, why does your mother have the insane notion that we are going to have kids? Get married? Is this just some quirky personality trait? Wishful thinking?" Hermione frowned. "It just dosen't make sense- she went from calling me your schoolmate to planning how many children we would have, all in one evening. Don't you think that's odd?"

Draco stared blankly out of a dark window. "Hasn't the weather been cold for this time of the year? Don't you think?"

She paused. "Don't change the subject, Draco." Hermione stared at him intently. "Is there something you're not telling me?" She questioned in a sickeningly poisonous voice.

"Uhhh…"

She raised an eyebrow. "Should I be worried?"

"Yes." Draco cringed and turned away from her. " And very."

…

Narcissa daintily folded her napkin after the meal, and cleared her throat. "Miss Granger, would you like to see the library? There's a section that I've just started, and I think you'd very much like it."

"Yes! Thank you!" Hermione smiled brightly as she followed Mrs. Malfoy through the large corridors of the Malfoy mansion.

She briskly led Hermione to a small, unmarked corner of the impressive library and gestured to a motley collection of books.

"They're all muggle works. I've worked hard to collect them, they've been very difficult to come by."

Hermione smiled as she looked at shelves full of books that ranged from classic children's books to self-help books for people who can't find a date and a book on the history of naval warfare. It was a diverse, and admittedly random collection, to be sure. Though Hermione did notice a remarkably large section containing nothing but what looked like some fairly trashy romance novels.

"It would be a great help if you could let me know what I'm missing out on, if it's not too much trouble."

"I would love to recommend a few things." Hermione said distractedly as she scanned the extent of the strange collection. "You seem to be missing a lot of what are considered the classics, you don't even have any Milton, Shelly or…

As soon as Hermione disappeared from view behind a stack of books, Narcissa yanked Draco behind a shelf, so they were out of Hermione's view and cast a silencing spell.

"She doesn't know, Draco."

"Wha?"

"You haven't told her! She doesn't see how serious this relationship is!"

"B-but…"

"I can tell that this connection runs deep, Draco. No matter how much you may deny it, or wish otherwise, I can see that the link between you two cannot, and should not, be broken. She needs to know this as well."

"I don't-"

"Has she been reading your thoughts?"

Draco blushed. Narcissa smiled at his reaction.

"You trust her, Draco! Even with the connection you forged, your mind wouldn't let her enter so easily if you two weren't already so deeply attached, even on a subconscious level." She looked fondly at her son. "I always knew it would be her, or at least I hoped you'd have the sense and the balls to get her, and not just settle for Pansy. Hermione's too good for you, though." She added in rather ponderous afterthought.

"What are you talking about? _'You always knew'_. How could you have? Hell, I still don't believe it."

"You mentioned her in nearly every letter you ever sent home, dear. You were fairly obvious."

"Well, yeah, but it was always along the lines of 'bloody Granger beat me on another bloody test' or 'bloody Granger bloody pisses me off'."

Narcissa sighed nostalgically. "It was cute, your little obsession with her. You mentioned her even more than you did Harry Potter."

Draco scowled. "That's not called obsession. It's called a rivalry. Hatred."

"There's a thin line between love and hate."

"That's so cliché."

"With good reason." Narcissa said with a wink. "Now, tell me. What exactly is your current relationship?"

"Excuse me?"

"Are you 'friends with benefits' or are you going steady or what?" She said with a business-like air.

"Mortal enemies." Draco conceded with a serious expression.

Narcissa raised an eyebrow in question. "You two seemed awfully chummy earlier for mortal enemies, obvious sexual tension aside."

Draco stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I believe we may have called a truce earlier, I'm not sure. The last few days are a bit hazy."

The elder Malfoy sighed wistfully. "Ahh, such is young love."

Draco imitated Dobby in banging his head against a nearby bookshelf. "You need to stop reading those muggle romance novels, Mother. They're destroying your mind."

He stopped the self punishment for a moment, and the library fell eerily quiet. Draco stared intently at the expensive rug from some place exotic that covered the floor. The Malfoys had to have the best, of course.

"She doesn't like me." He breathed so quietly that it was barely even a whisper, his voice finally reflecting the seriousness of this conversation.

"What?"

"I didn't tell her because she doesn't like me. She doesn't want to spend the rest of her life with me. She can't even stand spending a few days near me." He looked into his mother's eyes slowly. "I didn't want to tell her that I have ruined the rest of her life. Her chances for happiness."

Narcissa wrapped her son in a full embrace like she hadn't done since he was young.

"I know your father and I haven't been the greatest of parents, and that has effected you greatly. But deep down you're better than anyone gives you credit for, even yourself. You aren't going to wreck her life, Draco. She's saving yours."

"So what do I do?"

"Talk to her."

…

Hermione flipped through one of Narcissa's trashy romances, laughing incredulously. The book contained the overused 'opposites attract' plot line. The two mortal enemies discovered they weren't all that different, and predictably fell in love, got married, had 2.5 kids and a white picket fence and all that jazz.

And, obviously, had great sex. In great detail.

"How cliché. Like that ever really happens." Hermione scoffed as she tossed the book fairly carelessly back onto the shelf.

"Hermione Granger mistreating books? I never thought I'd see the day." Draco said slyly as he leaned on the shelf behind her, his arms crossed and an unreadable expression across his face.

"If you can call that a book." Hermione scoffed as she stood up with a little help from the blonde.

Draco raised an eyebrow in question, but decided to ignore her cryptic comment.

"Anyways, Mother asks your forgiveness, for she had a sudden bought of exhaustion and had too retire to her room."

"Ah, a messenger boy, are we now?"

Draco grimaced. "So it would seem. Anyways, that wasn't all she wanted me to tell you."

Hermione smirked. "Really? You have more messages for me?" 

"She made me swear to tell you that one, she'll see you soon." Hermione's eyebrows shot up. That wasn't an invitation, clearly, but a statement of fact. "And secondly, she wants us to have a spring wedding."

Hermione's jaw was on the floor. Literally. She had tripped and fallen over, and was currently lying on the floor in a complete state of shock. She coughed unattractively loud, and not in the dainty manner that Mrs. Malfoy had mastered, in order to get air back into her lungs. She finally managed to hack out a reponse. "Really? That's all she had to say? Nothing important?"

Draco grimaced. "I was hoping that last one was a joke, but with Mother you can never be sure."

……

Author's Note:

Sorry about the over-a-year-long break.

Yeah…

But I'm going to try and actually finish this story.

Hopefully.


End file.
